Appearances can be Deceiving
by baneismydragon
Summary: In which Marinette gets a new roommate, Adrien has a nervous breakdown, Gabriel is the worlds ok-est Dad, and Alya is no help whatsoever
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1: Roommate Wanted_

 _"Once again Gabriel has dominated the fashion industry with sales reaching an all-time high. Fresh off the success of the recently revealed spring collection, it will be interesting to see what is in store for the family that has ruled over Paris' elite for the last decade. Father and son were both on sight for the press conference last night to address the future of the expanding label, as well as share insights into the latest overseas expansion."_

 _-excerpt_ _Le Nouvel Observateur_

"Alright that is it, we are going out tonight."

"Alya, now is not the time." Marinette sighed at her friend as she stared hopelessly down at the pile of applications sitting on the table in front of her. 10 interviews today and not a single one had been a promising match.

"It is exactly the time. Face it, today sucked and we could both use a night out."

"We can't afford a night out." Marinette replied sullenly.

She gazed around the comfortable living room of their homey three bedroom apartment and sighed. Everything had been fine up until 3 weeks ago.

It had been so exciting at the start of University to finally move out on her own. Her, Alya, and Aurora (who had become one of Alya's closest friends after an intensive summer internship that they both attended) had been thrilled to pool their resources and invest in a nice spacious flat a short walk from the school. The trio of high school friends got along well and rarely had any major disagreements, despite widely differing schedules, and for over a year things had been great. Then 2 months ago Aurora had finally gotten her big break- an offer to take over as the lead weather reporter for a successful local station in Orleans.

They had all been thrilled for her of course. Aurora had packed her things, promised to write often and visit when she could, and headed out to chase after her lifelong dream. But while it had been a great success for their friend, the lack of a third roommate left Marinette and Alya in a bit of a tenuous position.

Both girls had part time jobs as well as some funds saved up, but their joint income would be taxed to the limit if they tried to hold onto the place by themselves for the entirety of the lease.

At first the solution had seemed simple. Nino had opted to do a semester abroad at the start of term and would be looking for a new place when he returned at the end of his four month trip. If they could scrape by on their own for the few months left till he got back they could simply keep the space open for him. After all it wasn't like Alya's long time boyfriend wouldn't be practically living with them anyways, might as well just make it official and be done with it. Money would be tight for a while, but it seemed like the perfect long term solution.

Then, Alya had lost her job.

Marinette might have been less irritated by the whole situation if it hadn't been for the reasoning behind it.

Alya had lost her job because she had missed too much work chasing after stories for the ladyblog. Not only that, her stubborn friend was now determined not to accept any offer that would 'deny her the ability to continue to refine her journalistic integrity.' Unsurprisingly, there were a lack of positions available that encouraged dropping everything to chase across town after superheroes.

Marinette had been furious. She understood her friends attachment to the blog, really she did, and the add revenue from the popular sight was responsible for a large chunk of Alya's tuition payments. But Marinette refused to support Alya in the idea that she personally needed to be on sight recording each and every encounter. It wasn't as though other spectators didn't send in cell phone videos and photos anyways. It was common knowledge that the Ladyblog was the premiere place to follow all things Ladybug. Alya could just have easily continued to maintain her blog from home AND hold down a respectable position. Not to mention then Marinette would finally have been able to stop constantly fearing for her reckless friend's life during battles.

And now here they were. Less than a week away from the next rent payment, broke, and without a single good prospect.

Alya plopped down on the arm of their threadbare couch with a carefree grin that had no business being on her face given the current circumstances. "We are young attractive women, it's not like it will be hard to have a night out on the town without spending our own money. Besides you NEED to get out their Marinette."

Marinette dropped her head on the table and groaned. Here we go again.

"Come on, we will get dressed up, hit up a nice club, find some attractive men for you to pick through."

"Alya let it go." Marinette all but growled into the table.

"As your best friend it is my duty to see you happy Mari." Alya quipped, waiving off the look of frustrated contempt being leveled at her by said best friend.

"I am happy." Marinette seethed.

"No you are tense and irritable. You need to get laid."

"I am tense and irritable because we need to find a roommate and I have no intention of indulging your psychotic need to live vicariously through my love life."

"You mean lack of love life." Alya shot back. "You haven't been on a date in months, and your longest relationship was five weeks."

"That is not true!" Marinette countered indignantly. "I dated Nicholas for four months!"

"It was a long distance relationship, and you saw him in person twice that whole time, it doesn't count."

"What do you mean it doesn't count?"

"Besides, you only went out with him because he looked like Adrien."

"That is absolutely not true!" She had gone out with him out because of a misguided notion that he might be Chat.

"I mean come on Mari, you have only ever kissed, what, four guys?"

"Five!"

"Wait who was number five?" Alya turned towards her accusingly and Marinette instantly regretted letting her irritation get the better of her. She had gone 2 years without letting this particular incident slip to Alya.

"No one you know, it was just a one-time thing." She stammered out, avoiding her friend's heated stare. "I didn't even know his name." Technically that was true. At least not his real one.

"Making out with a guy whose name you didn't even know?" Alya cried dramatically, "Wow Aurora really was a bad influence on you wasn't she. I can't wait to tell her. So details."

"No!"

"You know you aren't allowed to have secrets from me, I need details on this mystery guy now."

"Alya, it wasn't that big of a deal we made out one time." Marinette whined, hoping that she could get through this conversation as quickly as possible.

"Oh so it's make outs now? Why is this the first I am hearing about this? Was it that hot bartender who was checking you out at the club last month?"

"No! I told you it's nothing can we just drop it?"

"Nope. Either spill or I am definitely dragging you out to a club tonight. Who knows, perhaps hottie mcbartender will be working and can score us free drinks."

"If I tell you will you drop the whole going out tonight routine?" Marinette groaned. Alya simply grinned manically and clapped her hands together in gleeful anticipation.

Seriously, Nino needed to get back home as soon as possible. Alya had far too much pent up energy and Marinette didn't know how much longer she could cope. She had never fully appreciated just how much effort that boy must put into keeping her best friend distracted and on task. Really he deserved a medal.

"It was the night after graduation, and he was a guy who I used to see around the bakery sometimes." Marinette began, trying to keep things as vague and uninteresting as possible. "As you may remember I was upset over the whole Adrien leaving for overseas thing and we ended up talking. He was dealing with a sort of similar situation with a girl he liked not being interested and one thing just sort of lead to another…" Marinette trailed off praying that Alya wouldn't push the subject.

"So let me get this straight," Alya said pinching the bridge of her nose "You stay up all night talking to a guy, then decided to let him put his tongue down your throat, and you couldn't be bothered to get his name?"

"It didn't seem important at the time?"

Alya made a guttural noise of disgust, shaking her head in disbelief. "At LEAST tell me he was good looking. What did mystery man look like anyways? Oh wait, if this was right after graduation let me guess- tall, blonde and preppy?"

"Actually he usually wore a lot of black." Marinette quipped before she could stop herself.

"Oh a bad boy! So, how did tall dark and nameless rank on a scale of 1 to please tear my clothes off?"

Marinette choked.

"That good huh? OK now I DEFINITELY need details."

"Ok seriously Alya you have a problem." Marinette replied, desperately hoping that her face hadn't turned an impressive shade of red.

"It's been 84 days Marinette. 84. You know the best part about being in a stable relationship? Not having to worry about going 84 freakin' days without getting any!" Alya hopped up off the couch and flopped boneless across Marinette's shoulders letting out a theatrical wail of frustration. Marinette just rolled her eyes and patted her patronizingly on the top of her head.

"You poor thing. I don't know how you will last the month and a half left till Nino's return." Marinette stated sarcastically.

"Well you can help distract me by going out with me tonight." Alya grinned, all traces of her faux sorrow replaced with a devilish smile."

"Alya I said no." Marinette pouted, standing up from her own chair to shake off her plotting roommate. "Besides I already ordered delivery and it should be here any minute."

"So put it in the fridge for later and go get changed." Alya shot back, clearly not willing to back down. "I mean it Marinette you spend way too much time cooped up in the apartment sewing, and that's just on the good days."

"I take my studies seriously, and as the only one of us who actually HAS a job right now forgive me if I am too busy paying our bills to go chasing after guys!" Marinette shouted defensively.  
"Oh please, as if you've ever chased after anyone other than Adrien anyways." Alya scoffed, waiving her hand in a dismissive gesture that made Marinette's teeth grind.

"Adrien and I are just friends." She hissed out the familiar mantra, although for whose benefit was anyone's guess.

"Yes, a fact we are all painfully aware of seeing as how you still have never worked up the guts to do anything about it."

"Oh so now you want me go running after Adrien again? Here I thought you wanted me to go out with you to flirt with nameless bartenders!"

"Well apparently you are happy to make out with nameless strangers so it shouldn't be that far of a stretch for you."

"Well that was uncalled for." Marinette huffed.

"Why can't we just go out and have some fun? What do you have to lose Mari? Its not like good looking available men are going to just come knocking on your door!"

Both girls jumped at the loud rap of knuckles against the hardwood door.

Marinette closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "That would be my delivery." She breathed, allowing herself a moment to get her heartrate back under control.

"No, no, we are going out tonight, so don't even think about curling up in front of the tv."

"Not going to happen Alya, just give up." Marinette replied lightly fishing her wallet out of her purse and heading over to the door.

"Nothing you say is going to change my mind Mari. So help me I will drag you out of this apartment kicking and screaming if I have to."

"Alya if you think…" Marinette's reply died on her lips as she swung open the door to reveal a breathless, extremely disheveled Adrien Agreste.

"Hey, Marinette… I… that is… are you guys still looking for a roommate?"

"On second thought," Alya murmured poking her head into the hallway "an evening in sounds great."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Make Yourself at Home

 _Adrien Agreste has risen from childhood star to full on supermodel. Voted one of France's top ten eligible bachelors, this Paris native is the perfect combination of brains, beauty, and success, already having established himself not just as a model but as the newest, and youngest, member of the 'Gabriel' Board of Directors. The younger Mr. Agreste made his business debut spearheading the campaign of the highly successful London signature collection this year and it seems that this is a family dynasty that is truly in good hands._

 _~excerpt Journal_ _Confidentiels_

Marinette could only stare slack-jawed as Adrien nervously shuffled in the hallway. In the five years that she had known him she had never seen him look anything less than impeccable. This had been increasingly true after he had graduated and begun working full time as a model for his father's company. Yet here he was, dressed in sweatpants and an old tee-shirt, hair wild and disarrayed in a way that was surprisingly endearing, sweat pouring down his face and neck, and a small pile of luggage at his feet.

"I… what?" She finally managed to stammer out, cursing the way her heart still pounded at the sight of him. They were friends for god sake! While she had accepted long ago that she would probably be secretly in love with him until the day she died, Marinette had worked hard to reach a point where she could act like a normal sane person around him. Admittedly, it helped that with his overworked schedule most of the time she had ample prep before they would see each other face to face.

"I'm sorry, I should have called first, I just… I had to leave and I didn't know where to go… if I go to a hotel he could just find me and I can't… I needed somewhere to go, and normally I would go to Nino's but he isn't here and I didn't want to just assume I could crash with you guys but I know you were looking for a roommate so I was sort of hoping…"

"Hey, slow down." Alya interrupted, coming forward to stand next to Marinette who was still frozen in shock, gaping at the attractive mess on her doorstep. "Take a deep breath and start over. Let's start with this- Hey Adrien how have you been? How was your trip to London?"

"What? London… oh right… it was fine, I've been… London was fine." Adrien said, shaking his head slightly as if trying to clear his head of fog.

"Great!" Alya continued with the same tone of forced sweetness that you use with a panicking 10 year old, "Well it's good to have you back, we missed you at movie night last week. So what brings you to our door at this hour of the evening?"

"I can't stay there… I… he… I…"

"Why don't you come inside?" Marinette blurted out, finally regaining control over her basic motor functions and stepping back to allow Adrien a path into the apartment.

"Yeah. Yeah that's good. Thanks." Adrien smiled shakily, grabbing up his bags and making a bee line for the dining table that Marinette had been sitting at just moments before. He sat down heavily, dropping his belongs on the ground with a loud thud and stared blankly at the floor.

"Did something happen?" Alya asked hesitantly, causing Adrien's head to snap up in alarm.

"Don't ask me. I can't tell you. Please I can't."

His voice was near hysterical as he dug his hands through his hair, clawing at the blond strands as though he could rip the memories of whatever was bothering him out if he just tried hard enough.

"Adrien stop!" Marinette cried, running forward to pull his hands away from his scalp before he drew blood.

Adrien's hands latched up and grabbed hers, his eyes flying to meet her concerned gaze.

His eyes were wide and panicked, and he stared at her with an intensity that made her toes curl, his fingers lacing through hers to keep her from pulling away from him.

"I left and I can't go back." He breathed, not taking his eyes off of Marinette. "It's not safe anymore, please don't make me go back."

Marinette felt the color drain from her face. Something was very, very wrong. Adrien was making no sense as he continued to mutter darkly under his breath about nothing being safe. She glaced at Alya who shrugged subtly, clearly at just as big of a loss as to how to react to this unprecedented situation.

"You don't have to go back. You are perfectly safe here." Marinette finally said, hoping that her voice belied the terror pooling in her gut. Either something truly terrible had happened or Adrien was going insane. Perhaps both.

"Thank you." Adrien sighed, squeezing her hand tightly. "I knew you guys were looking for a roommate, I mean it's been two weeks since we talked about it so you may have found someone already, but I was sort of hoping…" He trailed off again a hopefully expression on his face.

Marinette could feel her cheeks flushing pink as she struggled to process everything happening around her. He still hadn't let go of her hands.

"You want to live here?" Marinette croaked out. Earning a none-too subtle elbow from Alya.

"I mean if that's ok? If not I understand I know this is totally unexpected, I just… well I trust you two, I mean you're some of my best friends so I figured-" He cut off abruptly as if he had just remembered something important, dropping Marinette's hands at last and frantically digging into one of the dufflebags strewn across the floor.

"I brought money!" He said, whipping out an impressive stack of Euros with a wide grin that did nothing to lessen Marinette's conclusion that Adrien had in fact gone insane. "I wasn't sure how much you would need so I grabbed 3,000, if that's not enough I can grab more out of my account tomorrow."

"Make yourself at home roommie!" Alya squealed, grabbing up the proffered pile of bills with wild eyed delight.

"Alya give that back! That's more than our entire month's rent!" Marinette choked gazing disbelievingly at the two, she was hesitant to call them adults, before her.

"I am not going to keep it! I just want to snap a photo of me rolling around in a giant pile of money!" Alya grinned, splaying out the bills into an arch and fanning herself.

Adrien paled, and Marinette instantly regretted her outburst at his clear distress.

"I'm sorry! I've never had to do anything like this before I didn't really know what was appropriate, if this isn't ok for you I am sure I can figure something out." Adrien said, looking crestfallenly between the two roommates.

"Oh relax, of course you are going to stay with us." Alya laughed, coming up behind him and wrapping her arm around him affectionately. "We wouldn't have turned you out even if you were pathetic and broke like the two of us, right Mari?"

"Of course not." Marinette agreed, forcing herself to give Adrien a comforting smile and struggling desperately not to faint when he once again clasped her hand in a vice grip.

He sagged back against the chair in relief, and Marinette felt her heart ache. What on earth had happened to him? And was he really so insecure that he didn't know that he could have stayed with them regardless of whether or not they were looking for a roommate?

"You know we could have always just put you up on the couch for a few days if you needed a place to crash." Alya teased softly, her thoughts clearly echoing her roommates. "We are your friends Adrien and we care about you, you know that right?"

"Yeah. Yeah I know." He closed his eyes, head lolling slightly to the side to rest on Alya's shoulder while his thumb traced absent patterns on the back of Marinette's hand.

They stayed in silence for a few minutes, Adrien unmoving, breathing deeply, and the two girls exchanging wordless conversation in an attempt to figure out what to do with the emotionally spent model who seemed in danger of passing out in their living room.

"Adrien?" Marinette questioned at last, ignoring Alya's reproachful eyebrow raise.

"Yeah?" He replied, still not opening his eyes.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" She ask gently.

His grip on her hand tightened and he visibly flinched.

"We don't have to!" She hurriedly backtracked "I just know that it can help and if you want to, not now but, you know, whenever, we are happy to listen."

"Thanks." He said quietly, his lashes fluttering open drowsily, his green eyes looking so broken and hallow that Marinette wanted to crawl onto his lap and cuddle him until she had banished that awful emptiness for good. "I… I can't right now. But maybe sometime… I just can't right now."

"You know, I think you should get some sleep bro." Alya said, standing up and ruffling Adrien's hair the way they had seen Nino do a thousand times before and he smiled halfheartedly at the playful imitation.

"Sleep would be good."

"How about we go ahead and stick you in my room for tonight, Mari and I were gonna marathon a movie anyways so I can just crash in her bed. Then tomorrow we can sit down and figure out details and all that, ok?" Alya said sweetly, once again channeling years of experience dealing with overwrought siblings.

"Ok." Adrien replied. "Is that ok with you Marinette?"

"Yeah, sounds great." She smiled, glad that Alya was clearly much better at coming up with plausible sounding white lies than she ever would be. Honestly it was a miracle she had never gotten expelled for her constant absence from class given her miserable excuses.

Alya shepherded Adrien off to her bedroom, him trailing after her, clutching his pile of bags like a lifeline.

Marinette turned on the first film she could find turning the volume as low as she could manage while still keeping it believable that they were actually watching.

Alya came back into the room a few minutes later, a troubled frown on her face, but anything she might have said was interrupted by another loud knock on the door.

Marinette numbly ambled over to the door and accepted the delivery, exchanging forgettable pleasantries with the driver before wordlessly tossing the entire bag into the fridge, her appetite fled.

She and Alya sat patiently in the living room, straining their ears desperate to catch any sounds emanating from the bedroom. At first they could make out indistinct voices, so either Adrien had decided to call someone or was simply ranting to himself now that he had some privacy. Neither girl was brave enough to attempt to eavesdrop more efficiently. Half an hour in they could no longer hear anything, and soon after that strategic trips to grab "snacks" revealed that Adrien had fallen asleep and was lightly snoring.

They waiting another 20 minutes just to be safe, staring at the movie in front of them without really following what was on the screen.

"OK what the hell was that?" Alya finally caved, "I have never seen Adrien lose his cool like that, not for anything. I didn't even think it was possible for him to look that awful!"

"I have no idea." Mariette whispered back, her eyes locked onto Alya's bedroom. "Do you think he would have told Nino? I mean he is clearly upset."

"Maybe, I'll ask as soon as I talk to him but he had a gig today so with the time difference I don't think I will hear from him until tomorrow night at the earliest." Alya replied.

"What are we going to do? We have to help him!" Marinette whimpered, absently rubbing her hands together and tracing the invisible patterns that were still burned onto her skin from where Adrien had touched her earlier.

"And we will." Alya said firmly, pulling her friend into a tight hug and rubbing small circles on her back. "Everything will be fine I promise."

Marinette nodded weakly, her eyes still boring holes in the door, her heart crying out for the boy she had never been able to move on from, who was suddenly so close and somehow still completely out of her reach.

…

Of course there would be an akuma attack today of all days. Marinette though bitterly as she dove behind a cluster of bushes in order to transform.

She had been a mess all throughout her morning classes, desperate to race home and check on Adrien.

He had not been awake when Marinette had headed out that morning and her brain had been conjuring horrible mental scenarios all day as to what state he would be in when she finally returned home.

For the first time since the "Ladyblog incident" she was glad that Alya had not yet acquired a new job, because the only think that had been keeping her sane was the steady stream of texts informing her that Adrien was still asleep and Nino still hadn't called with any new information.

For all of Alya's faults she was the most loyal friend Marinette could have asked for and was showing an incredible amount of generosity by sending hourly updates in spite of the lack of change.

Marinette had just finished her final class for the day when she heard the screaming.

Rushing outside she marveled at the chaos around her, quickly taking stock of the situation and sprinting towards the closest available hiding place.

The akuma of the week seemed to be some sort of water based theme. Students and teachers alike ran panicked through the campus grounds trying to dodge blasts of water and rapidly materializing whirlpools.

Marinette didn't even bother listening to the villain's speech today. She couldn't care less what petty squabble had caused this particular victim to fall pray to Papillion's influence, not when the love of her life was curled up, miserable and heartsick in her apartment.

She transformed quickly, ready to leap into battle and end this mess as soon as possible.

But before she even had a chance to spring from her hiding spot her partner appeared on the scene, diving into the fight with a ruthless intensity that stunned the spotted heroine.

Ladybug would be lying if she said she contributed much to this particular encounter. She could have gone for coffee and back for how little her presence was needed as Chat dove and struck at the akuma, flawlessly blocking attacks and forcing their enemy into increasingly difficult corners.

There were no quips or flirts. In fact she wasn't sure he had spoken a word since his arrival on the scene. Chat was all rage and efficiency as he savagely pounced on upon the outmatched akuma, pinning him to the ground weaponless as Ladybug called for her Lucky Charm.

The telltale gleam of Papillion's communication flickered to light and the akuma turned to stare directly at Ladybug. "If you would just hand over your miraculous all of this would be over. Paris would never have to suffer again and you would be free to live your life."

"Don't Speak to her!" Chat shouted, wrenching the akuma away so that he was staring directly at him, glowing green facing off against violent purple. "You don't get that right. You will never touch her do you hear me?" Chat snarled at the pinned villain, his face bathed in the eerie glow of Papillion's controlling mask. "If you want her you have to come through me." He hissed, ripping the cursed necklace from the akuma and flinging it over to where Ladybug stood shell-shocked.

Mechanically Ladybug smashed the necklace and cleansed the akuma, tossing her unused charm into the air to repair the damage done to the city.

Chat sat, tense and miserable, his tail twitching sporadically and his ears plastered against his head. He didn't move as the confused victim hurried away, and made no sign that he heard her approach as Ladybug slowly edged over to her partner.

"Are you ok Chat?" She asked, reaching out to tentatively pat him on the shoulder.

Without warning he sprang up and wrapped her in his arms, clinging to her as if she was the only thing keeping him tethered to this earth.

"Chat?"

"I will never let him get you my Lady. Not for anything. No matter what he says… I will never, never let him hurt you. Nothing is worth that."

As quickly as he had pulled her in Chat dropped away, sprinting off into the crowd and out of sight.

"Ladybug would you care comment on this most recent battle? Did something happen to provoke such an intense reaction from your partner?"  
"Alya what are you doing here?" Ladybug shouted, eyes bulging before she remembered that she had no business yelling at her friend while behind her mask. "It's not safe for civillians to get this close to a battle." She added hastily, hoping to cover her shock with a more understandable feeling of protectiveness.

"I was perfectly safe!" Alya replied cheerfully. "Besides, nothing can take down Ladybug and Chat Noir and all of Paris can sleep easy knowing that!"

In spite of herself Marinette felt her heart warm a little at her friends unwavering faith.

"Well next time try to stay out of the line of fire." She admonished, unable to completely suppress the fond grin as she watched Alya's unbound enthusiasm.

"Ladybug can you tell us what is going on with Chat Noir? He seemed particularly invested in this attack."

"We are always 100% invested in any attack against the citizens of Paris." Ladybug replied lightly. "And I need to be off." She swung her yo-yo out and quickly raced several blocks away before detransforming.

As she raced home, she distractedly wondered why the only men she ever cared for seemed to be such emotional wrecks.

She pushed the thoughts away and hurried into her building.

She could worry about Chat's odd behavior later. Right now Adrien needed her.

…

"You left him! I can't believe you just left him!" Marinette cried, desperately pacing around the living room and glaring at Alya.

"Marinette he is a grown man and can take care of himself. He probably just went for a walk!" Alya replied. "Besides he was fine when I left, he was just sitting on the couch watching the news feed on the attack."

"Of all the stupid, unbelievable…" She broke off and turned towards the unmistakable sound of a key turning in the lock.

"Hey," Adrien said with a forced grin, "I thought we could all used some coffee so I ran out to get some. I wasn't sure what kind you wanted so…"  
His breath was knocked from him as Marinette crashed into his arms, his quick reflexes barely enough to keep the steaming liquid from spilling all over the pair of them.

"You're back, oh thank god. You're ok." Marinette breathed, too relieved to be embarrassed by her forwardness.

"I'm fine Mari, really." Adrien laughed lightly, giving her the first real smile Marinette had seen on him in the past 24 hours.

"AND as I was about to say before your little tirade," Alya stated haughtily, "I gave him the spare key so that he wouldn't be stranded alone on the streets of Paris."

"I am eternally indebted to you." Adrien joked pulling Marinette along with him into the apartment and handing Alya the tray of drinks and settling down on the couch. "I would surely be dead in a gutter without my dazzling patronesses." He flashed them a stunning model smile before pulling Marinette down on the couch with him, wrapping her into a bear hug as she let of a shriek of surprise. Alya quickly followed suit, bouncing down onto Adrien's other side and shoving him with her shoulder, knocking him on top of the squirming girl.

Marinette could feel her cheeks flaming but simply wrapped her arms tightly around her friend.

Adrien, for all of his shyness and poise, reveled in physical affection, and the small quartet of friends had long ago fallen into a comfortable pattern of casual touches and friendly cuddles. Given Alya and Nino's relationship Marinette was used to being on the receiving end of Adrien's friendly attentions, and if he ever wondered why sometimes her face would flush or she would seem to have trouble breathing he was always too polite to mention it. He probably thought she had some sort of chronic disease.

They poked and prodded at each other for a few minutes, dissolving into an all-out tickle war, before eventually settling back against the cushions happy and spent.

"So we should probably talk about how this whole move in is going to work." Alya said at last, leaning back against the arm of the couch and swinging her legs up to rest across Adrien's lap. She viciously poked at Marinette with her toe until with a sigh the dark haired girl followed her example, daintily placing her legs atop of Alya's and sucking in a breath when Adrien's hand landed unassumingly just above her knee.

"You're both still ok with this right?" Adrien asked nervously, glancing quickly back and forth between the two girls. Alya laughed.

"Well it's a little late now anyways. She is totally going to kill you by the way."

"You said it would help!" Adrien glared at her accusingly.

"I know, and it will. I also said she would kill you. Let it not be said that I am not a woman of my word."

"What are you two even talking about?" Marinette asked suspiciously.

"Oh just the fact that when I took Adrien to the Landlords office to put his name on the lease he paid off the next three month's rent. In full."

"You did what?" Marinette gasped sitting up straight and then instantly regretting it as her changed position slid her legs forward so that Adrien's hand was now resting dangerously high against the inside of her thigh.

She immediately shrank back down but didn't miss the pink flush that crept along his ears as he pulled his hand away and nervously rubbed the nape of his neck. It was a nervous habit that she found was almost as much of a turn on as his accidental grouping.

"You shouldn't have done that." Marinette scolded, but her voice was breathy and nervous, and she doubted that a mouse would have been intimidated by the sound.

"Oh calm down girl its not like we aren't going to pay our share." Alya said, "This just means you don't have to worry about going into debt before your next paycheck AND you don't have to worry about coving my share until I find a new job. We can just pay Adrien at the start of the month instead of the Landlord. Besides if we have to start offering sexual favors to starve off late fees at least we like this one." Alya said with a wink.

"WHAT?" Adrien balked, instinctively trying to dart up from the couch but trapped by the twin pairs of legs still drapped across him.

Alya burst out laughing. "Oh my GOD you should see your face!"

"Don't worry you get used to her." Marinette sighed, giving Adrien a sympathetic look. "She thinks that she is funny."

"I am hilarious." Alya said still snorting with laughter.

Adrien relaxed back down into his seat but streatched around so that he was leaning against Marinette. "I think you are my favorite roommate." He said in a stage whisper. She giggled and stuck out her tongue at Alya.

"See I'm Adrien's favorite." Marinette teased, delighting in the compliment even if it was made in jest.

"Well then I guess I leave you in charge of the sexual favors." Alya shot back, earning an embarrassed groan from Adrien and a swift kick in the arm from Marinette.

"So obviously you'll be taking over Aurora's old room." Alya said, trying to get back on topic, "Which works out well because it has its own attached bathroom so we won't have to worry about any awkward sit-com moments. Since we both have the day off did you want to pick up your stuff today? Although I suppose you could probably just hire people to get everything for you." She finished thoughtfully, clearly falling into daydreams of a life where you could afford to make other people move furniture. Marinette didn't blame her, she could still remember the week long ache that followed their own move into this same apartment.

"I have all my stuff." Adrien stated blandly, earning him owlish stares from both girls.

"You're kidding right? You have like… three bags and have been wearing the same outfit since you got here. Not your most flattering look by the way model boy."

"I don't usually focus on style when I am getting ready to sleep." Adrien retorted.

"So then where are the rest of your clothes? How about furniture?"

Adrien's brow furrowed. "I guess I really hadn't thought that far ahead yet."

"It's fine, like I said we can make a trip out to get your things…"

"NO!" Adrien shouted, before shrinking back embarrassed. "Sorry." He coughed, then more mildly "I am not going to set foot in that place. There is nothing there that I want or need to ever see again."

"Okay." Alya drawled, exchanging a knowing glance with Marinette. Well that confirmed that whatever it was that had happened to Adrien had something to do with his father.

Marinette wished she could say she was surprised. Gabriel Agreste was one of the few topics that was generally avoided by the group, although Nino had been known to have a few choice rants about the man when Adrien wasn't around.

They all knew that Adrien loved his father, desperately so at times. The poor boy had bent over backwards all throughout their school days to make the man happy, although how successful his attempts had been was anyone's guess. Things had seemed to get better when Adrien had agreed to pursue modeling full time after graduation, even voluntarily participating in a 4 month campaign in Milan as his father's assistant. While Nino had railed furiously about Adrien's continued masochism and how he was once again putting his own dreams on hold 'just to please that controlling, judgmental sociopath', Marinette had secretly hoped that maybe it would all be for the best. Besides, she had selfishly been unwilling to completely abandon hope that her fashion idol (and in her wildest dreams future father in law) was deep down a loving and concerned parent.

"Well I guess we just need to go out shopping then, and you can sleep on the couch in the meantime." Marinette said, reaching out to tentatively to grab Adrien's hand and internally screaming in delight when he once again began idly tracing the back of her own with his thumb. This was a new habit that she was quickly coming to adore.

"True. Besides, nothing says 'fuck you Dad' like running up a giant credit card bill." Alya teased knowingly, waiting to see how Adrien reacted to the subtle assumption about his troubles.

Adrien grinned.

…

It would never cease to amaze Marinette how blown away Adrien would get by the simplest acts.

They had been out for the last 3 hours running around to various shops and boutiques replenishing Adrien's wardrobe, but in a fit of pure rebellion Adrien had insisted that they head to one of the large department store malls.

So that was how they found themselves, mingling with spoiled teens and hordes of tourists, darting in and out of the various chain brand stores and racking up bills that made Marinette's head spin as Adrien cooed over the novelty of it all.

"So is your father going to have a heart attack seeing you in a non-designer suit?" Alya asked as Adrien stepped out of the dressing room to model his latest selection in front of the mirror.

"Probably." Adrien muttered, gazing at his reflection with a frown. "The fit on this is terrible, and the lapels are too wide for this cut."

Marinette laughed, and Alya rolled her eyes.

"Well it's a commercial suit Adrien it's not going to be custom tailored to you." Marinette said with a grin.

"That's no excuse for terrible craftsmanship." Adrien quipped, flashing her a devilish smile. "Or are you telling me that as an aspiring designer you question my judgement as to the quality of this suit?"

"No it's terrible, I'll disown you if you even think about buying it." She replied and Adrien laughed.

"That's my girl!" He said with a wink. Marinette flushed with pleasure.

"Honestly, I wouldn't bother with any of the formal wear here, you should focus on more casual pieces. Besides all of your outfits are provided for you at your shoots right? So all you need to worry about is what you want to wear." Marinette said.

"Right you are." Adrien grinned again, pulling off the suit jacket and disappearing back into the dressing room to switch out into the next ensemble.

"You know Marinette, as long as we are here don't you need to pick out something for your interview next week?" Alya asked innocently.

"Oh shoot I completely forgot!" Marinette whined. Normally she would have simply thrown together something herself, but certain companies frowned on wearing your own designs to an interview for an internship, finding it to be too forward.

"Adrien's already covered my share of the rent so at least you can afford to get something cute now." Alya said, tilting her head over towards the large display of semi-formal dresses on the far end of the store. Marinette wandered over to examine some of the more promising options while Adrien popped back out dramatically modeling another hoodie for Alya. (Honestly he must have purchased 15 of them already.)

She picked out a few cute outfits to try herself, smiling affectionately as she watched Adrien striking practiced poses while Alya snapped pictures on her cellphone while calling out loud comments about spaghetti in a very fake Italian accent.

"Marinette! Hurry up and get over here Adrien needs a partner!" Alya shouted over to her with a grin.

"Coming!" Marinette laughed, grabbing a final outfit before spinning around and crashing into a smartly dressed middle aged woman.

"Oh I am so sorry!" Marinette gasped, grabbing at her selections and blushing furiously at her own clumsiness.

"It's perfectly all right. It's nice to see young people distracted by something as commonplace as retail clothes." She said with a friendly smile. "Out shopping with your boyfriend?"

Marinette glanced back over towards the dressing room to see Adrien waiving her over, this time he was dressed in a simple ensemble of black jeans, vivid blue shirt and a black 'Jagged Stone collection' embroidered blazer. He looked every inch the super model he was and Marinette felt a sudden rush of heat shooting right to her core. "Yeah…" she breathed heavily giving Adrien a dreamy wave in return before he turned away to listen to something Alya was saying. "I mean, no… I mean… we're just friends." She muttered, her face flushing again.

"I see." The woman said with a gleaming smile and a light laugh. "Well I won't keep you from your fun, it was nice to meet you… I'm sorry what did you say your name was?"

"Oh! Marinette."

"Teresa. It was very nice running into you Marinette." She said, turning back to thumb through the display in front of her with a sly smirk.

Marinette hurried over to her friends, embarrassed but excited to join Adrien in modeling some of their various selections.

They posed and strutted, Adrien pulling Marinette about and guiding her unpracticed movements while Alya continued to yell out instructions, mimicking various photographers Adrien had complained about over the years.

"No no no! This is not acceptable at all", Alya said in a gruff husky voice, "Where is the passion the romance? Adrien you must make Love to the camera! Marinette you should be attacking him like a wolf on the prowl!"

They laughed and twirled, genuinely enjoying themselves before gathering up their various selections for purchase and heading out to the next location. ;

None of them noticed the repetitive click of a camera following them from a short distance away.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- Truth or Consequence

 _It's no secret that Adrien Agreste is one of the most sought after men in all of France. While he has frequently been seen with numerous celebrities and models, no one has yet been able to hold the attention of the elusive bachelor. Is he holding out for someone in particular? Or is this handsome heartthrob just not ready to settle down? We explore these questions and more in our exclusive interview…_

 _Excerpt- Elle Magazine_

Marinette had never been so tempted to call in sick to work in her life.

Unfortunately, when your current job was working for your parents, playing hooky came with a whole new set of complications.

Still she couldn't resist spending just a few minutes blatantly staring at the sleeping Adonis sprawled out on her couch.

He even looked gorgeous when he slept, Marinette thought bitterly, repressing memories of horribly embarrassing photos of her own less graceful slumbers amassed by Alya through years of sleepovers.

His mouth was slightly open in a delectable pout, arms wrapped tightly around a pillow confirming Nino's protestations that Adrien was in fact an unrepentant cuddler. The blanket he had been using had gotten largely discarded giving Marinette an unobstructed view of an exceptionally well-defined chest and she idly wondered how much his career would skyrocket even further if his professional image veered away from his more conservative style.

"If you take a picture it was last longer." Alya teased sleepily.

Marinette jumped, spinning around to glare at her pajama clad roommate.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" She hissed, mindful of the sleeping male not five feet away.

"I was hardly sneaking, it's not my fault you were distracted." Alya smiled behind the rim of her coffee mug, then frowned as she took a sip. "Ugh, we really need a better coffee pot, this is pathetic."

"I wasn't ogling Adrien," She was. "I was just worried about him." At least that was true.

"Sure." Alya smirked, whipping out her cell phone and snapping a picture as Marinette stifled a squawk of protest. "You'll thank me later." Alya surveyed Adrien speculatively before taking a few steps to the right and extending her phone for a better angled shot ignoring the frantic arm waving of her mortified companion. "Who eats Camembert as a late night snack?" She grumbled, apparently satisfied with her photo as she padded over to the kitchenette Marinette trailing behind.

"I donnow. Must be a model thing."

It was a mantra they had both come to accept over the years. Whenever Nino had pried for information about any of Adrien's odd habits he had always reported back to them with the same unhelpful answer. By this point in their friendship it had become a running joke amongst the four of them.

 _'Nino! Is there a reason you were 2 hours late when we were supposed to be meeting up with my parents tonight?' 'Sorry babe, it's a model thing.' 'Oh so video games with your idiot best friend is a model thing?' 'I don't make the rules of high fashion sweetheart'_

 _'Marinette did you seriously just climb in through the fire escape of your own apartment?' 'It's a model thing?' 'You lost your key again didn't you.' 'Sure let's go with that.'_

"So did Nino learn anything about what happened?" Marinette asked, rummaging in the refrigerator for something to eat before she headed out.

"No, apparently Adrien's still not talking." Alya said darkly, glaring over at the sleeping figure on the couch as he let out a soft snore. "Don't worry though, I have a plan."

"Alya…" Marinette warned.

"Relax, I promise I won't do anything until you get home tonight." Alya stated solemnly raising her free hand and pressing her steaming coffee mug to her heart. "Today is all about taking Adrien shopping for furniture and convincing him that the world is full of rainbows and unicorns. It will be a regular Disney movie montage."

Marinette nodded, still skeptical but without a lot of choice in the matter.

She quickly scarfed down a muffin and a glass of juice before grabbing her things and heading out the door, determined not to let her worries get the best of her.

…

"But Maman what if Alya comes up with one of her crazy plans and drives Adrien away forever? Then I will never see him again, and I will never know what was bothing him! And he'll disappear and live out the rest of his life as an unhappy hermit in some Russian forest with only wolves for friends!" Marinette rambled miserably, flopping down against the counter of the finally empty patisserie as her parents chuckled unsympathetically.

"Darling if Alya hasn't chased away Adrien by now I seriously doubt it's going to happen." Her mother said lightly not even bothering to look up from the cash drawer that she was counting out.

"Your right." Marinette sighed, grabbing a broom and starting in on her portion of the closing routine. "It's just that he was so unhappy. I mean he tries to hide it, and sometimes things are ok when we are joking around and all that, but…" She trailed off taking out her nervous aggression on a large pile of crumbs lodged into the corner.

"I have every confidence that you will get him through it. He's always been a strong boy despite his difficult life and he'll be much happier now that he is surrounded by his friends." Sabine smiled warmly.

"And you're both ok with having him move in with Alya and I?" Marinette asked shyly. He parents had always been incredibly supportive and open minded but she hadn't really thought about the implications of telling her parents that her long time crush was now sleeping 20 feet from her door until the entire story had already spilled out of her mouth. After all, Alya had gotten into a 2 week fight with her mother when she had announced her plan to have Nino move in, and they had been dating since college.

"Absolutely!" Tom said jovially, coming over to clasp his daughter on the shoulder. "I expect to hear that he is to be my son in law by the end of the year. He is the only boy you have ever brought home who appreciates a good joke, so don't let him get away."

"Papa!" Marinette wailed, as her mother laughed traitorously.

"I want grandchildren you know, and this is the first real progress I have seen in years." He winked.

"We aren't even dating!" Marinette squeeked, her face turning an alarming shade of magenta.

"Oh Tom don't tease her so." Sabine chided, although she still hadn't stopped giggling. "In all seriousness though dear, we just want you to be happy. If this will make you happy then we have no complaints."

Marinette smiled at her parents. Really she was so lucky to have them. Tears prickled at the corners of her eyes as she thought about how different her life would be if she didn't have their unwavering support. What if her life had been like Adrien's?

"Of course," Sabine said interrupting her train of thought, "if something DOES finally come of your and Adrien's relationship you know you have our full blessing."

"Maman!"

"After all he is such a nice well-mannered boy. And frightfully good looking. It would be marvelous to have something to Lord over your Aunt Jaqueline."

"My sister has been unbearable since Caroline delivered the third grandchild."

"It will certainly take her down a peg when our little Mari brings home a supermodel. Perhaps we should send her home with a box of desserts, lord knows Adrien's always had a sweet tooth."

"I hate you both so much right now." Marinette grumbled.

…

Marinette struggled not to trip over the horde of boxes scattered across the apartment as she followed the sound of voices to Alya's room.

"But this one has a double recliner AND surround sound speakers that you can program to sync up to your TV! Just Imagine, we could be watching replays of the Ladybug fights in surround sound."

"Or we could just install an actual surround sound and not get an ugly couch."

"It's not ugly."

"Red faux leather is the definition of ugly."

"You just want something that's black."

"Black is classic, elegant, and forgiving when it comes to hiding things like food and drink stains, and trust me when I say I have seen you and Nino eat often enough to count that as a high priority."

"That was cold Agreste."

"I speak as I find Cesiare."

"What are you guys doing?" Marinette asked poking her head into the room to stare at her two roommates who were huddled over Alya's computer.

"Couch shopping." Adrien said, not taking his eyes off the screen as he continued to scroll through the page in front of him opening new tabs as he went.

"For your bedroom?" Marinette asked hoping against hope that he would answer to the affirmative.

"No, there isn't room. I suppose I should have said replacement couch. Alya mentioned that the one you have was supposed to be a stand in so might as well see if we can just get everything in the same delivery."

"Alya." Marinette growled turning towards her friend with furious scowl.

"I simply told him the facts, we picked the couch up from a move out sale when we moved in and that it was falling apart then." She blinked at Marinette the picture of wide eyed innocence. "I can't be held responsible if Adrien wants to hold our humble household to a higher standard of living."

"What else did you talk him into?" Marinette hissed as Adrien, oblivious to the drama behind him, happily settled on a couch and closed out his purchase order.

"I don't know what you are insinuating." Alya hummed.

"Oh save it, we will be talking about this later." Marinette seethed, before plastering on a smile as Adrien spun around to face them.

"OK! That should cover the furniture! Everything will be arriving in the next 2 days so I'll be able to give you your couch back."

Marinette could feel her eye twitch as she fought back a scathing comeback about how apparently the couch was apparently not long for this world anyways. Instead she swallowed her irritation and allowed Adrien this small victory. After all it wasn't like she was attached to the ancient couch, she just didn't want Adrien thinking that he needed to buy his way into their good graces.

"So we should probably at least get some of that stuff organized before we get started right?" Adrien said tossing a sheepish grin at Marinette. "Sorry we didn't have it settled before you got home, they didn't have everything we were looking for and we got kinda caught up in online shopping."

His hand had crept up to rub at the back of his neck again in that nervous habit that never failed to melt her insides.

"It's really not an issue." She said softly, heart pounding as he stared fondly at her with large kitten eyes. "Wait, get started on what?" She asked, finally recovering enough from Adrien's allure to realize what he had said.

"We are staying in tonight and playing Truth or Consequence." Alya said with a devilish grin.

"Oh no," Marinette blanched, "Alya the last time we played Nino was curled up in a ball In your room for two days."

"Yeah but he's a total lightweight. Besides Adrien has never gotten to play and you wouldn't want him to miss out would you?" Alya said, wandering into the living room and gathering up various boxes to carry them into Adrien's new bedroom.

"It sounded like fun to me." Adrien said, hefting up several of the larger parcels and carrying them into the empty room. "I figure we can just stack everything up against the wall for now and just unpack everything at once after all the deliveries are over." He called out to them.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Marinette whispered to Alya now that Adrien was out of earshot. "I know we are trying to keep him distracted but alcohol and emotional instability aren't exactly a great combination."

"Mari, think about it. The whole point of truth or consequence is to get force people to be honest with each other. Or do you have a better idea as to how we are going to find out what's going on with him?"

Marinette didn't really have a counter to that point. Two days of gentle prodding had yielded nothing, and even Nino's persistant Skype calls had only left them with more questions than answers. Thank God she had the day off tomorrow.

Twenty minutes later the three friends were seated on the floor around a small coffee table, Adrien bouncing slightly in eager anticipation as Alya poured out three minature glasses of Rosé, two other bottles of wine already waiting in reserve on the table along with the dreaded bottle of death (as Nino had dubbed the large bottle of Vodka).

"So the rules are simple." Alya spieled pushing a glass in front of each of them. "We all take turns asking each other questions and you can either answer honestly or you finish your glass. At any point you can call for a twenty minute break, which also guarantees a courtesy topic change so you always have an out if things get too personal, BUT if you do you have to drink a glass of vodka."

"Aren't these glasses a little small for a Rosé?" Adrien asked with the unconscious snobbery of his privileged upbringing. Marinette and Alya simply looked at each other and laughed.

"You'll appreciate that in a minute." Marinette said between giggles. "The first time we play this at Juleka's we used regular glasses and it was a disaster."

"Nat still won't touch a bottle of champagne for fear of bursting out into song." Alya chortled.

Adrien smiled at them, but neither girl missed the fierce look of regret that flashed in his eyes. He had been overseas at the time on business.

"So who wants to start?" Adrien looked between the two girls.  
"Aren't you an eager beaver?" Alya laughed. "Careful pretty boy, you have no idea what you're in for."

"You've got nothing on me, I don't scare that easily." Adrien grinned widely, twirling his glass with a casual elegance that reminded Marinette of his most recent perfume add.

"You really shouldn't have said that." She said conspiratorially as Alya's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Ok Agreste, answer me this- has my boyfriend ever talked to you about wanting a three way with me and my girl here?" She poked her thumb at Marinette and smirked.

Adrien visibly paled and downed his glass without a second thought.

Marinette snickered. "I told you, Alya plays dirty."

…

An hour later they were well into the second bottle and Marinette couldn't help but marvel in awe at Alya's clever scheming.

While she herself was feeling more than a little tipsy, and Alya had a telltale redness across her cheeks, neither of them could hold a candle to Adrien's drunken giggles.

Thus far they had carefully avoided any mention of Adrien's current troubles, keeping to fun anecdotes and work related embarrassments, as well as the standard suggestive questions that had always made this game popular among their age group.

Marinette had downed more than one glass of wine when questioned about her own love life, and had seriously contemplated reaching for the bottle of Vodka when Adrien had asked her point blank if she had a crush on anyone back in lycee.

Instead she had begrudgingly owned up to having a celebrity crush on Chat Noir, which had prompted a whole slew of questions from Adrien while Alya had simply muttered under her breath about her having a type.

Alya shot her a suggestive glance as Adrien staggered off to the kitchen for snacks.

Apparently it was time to start pushing the envelope.

Adrien sat back down a few moments later, dropping the large box of pastries that Marinette had brought home with her onto the table as he chewed on an éclair.

"So Marinette." Adrien asked licking the chocolate from his fingers and giving her a new mental image that was sure to be a prominent feature in her late night fantasies, "where do you see yourself going after you graduate?"

Marinette couldn't help but smile. He really was terrible at this game, constantly getting distracted by wanting to catch up on innocent information that he had missed over the years and making it increasingly easy for the girls to drink him under the table.

Alya jabbed her surreptitiously in the gut, in case she had missed the obvious opening.

"Actually it's always kind of been my dream to work at 'Gabriel.'" She admitted shyly. "You're father is a really inspiring designer."

"Yeah," Adrien said flatly his eyebrows furrowed. "It's amazing how much he manages to get done when he isn't busy terrorizing people."

Marinette and Alya exchanged excited glances.

"Well that sounds ominous." Marinette said, forcing herself to keep her tone light and playful. "Don't tell me the company has gotten mixed up in something illegal."

"Not exactly." Adrien said, although he didn't meet her gaze.

"Oh, is he the type to make things personal if you screw up an assignment?" Alya asked with the same forced casualness.

"He doesn't see anything he does as personal." Adrien spat. "That's the problem."

"So tell me Adrien, what's the worst thing your fathers ever done to an intern? After all I should know what I am getting into if I apply right?"

Adrien went deathly pale and nervously downed another glass.

"I can't answer that."

"Do I need to be worried about my girl?" Alya said in complete seriousness.

"No it's nothing like that. I don't think he would ever hurt Marinette. At least not deliberately. It's more that he… let's just say that he poses a threat to a good friend of mine and I can no longer trust him."

"Do you want to tell us about it?" Marinette pressed, amazed that they had managed to get as much out of their tight lipped friend as they had.

"I can't" Adrien hiccupped, visiably deflating. "I can't tell anyone. It would make things even more complicated and I can't do that to her."

It looked like they had gotten as much as they were going to for the time being. Still, it was a good start and more than Marinette had expected.

"Her?" Alya said changing the subject with a devious glint in her eye as Marinette felt her heart drop to her stomach.

"Do you have a girlfriend Agreste?"

Adrien's expression of anxiety dissolved into hysterical giggles.

"Yeah, cause she's ever going to date me!" He doubled over in laughter but Marinette wasn't sure that she was imagining the bitter edge to his voice and the hallow defeat in his eyes.

"Ok ok I get it, no girlfriend." Alya said, smacking him on the back to stop his wheezing laughter and shooting a pointed look at Marinette. "I would have figured it would be easy for you to score dates seeing has how you are a literal supermodel."

"I said that I don't have a girlfriend not that I didn't date" Adrien shot back with a wide toothy grin that did nothing to lessen Marinette's jumbled nerves.

"Oh! Nino's been holding out on me! I had no idea that beneath this goodie two-shoed exterior lay a massive player."

"Hardly." Adrien smirked. "Most of my dates were selected for me by Nathalie so it isn't as glamourous as it sounds."

"Were you ever interested in any of the girls you were involved with?" Marinette couldn't help asking, running her finger nervously over the rim of her glass.

"There have been a few girls that caught my attention over the years." He responded giving her a soft smile.

"Well now that I know you have been hiding all this juicy dirt from me, what's the longest you've ever been with someone?" Alya asked, as she deliberately refilled Adrien's glass.

"One date."

"Seriously?" Marinette burst out before she could stop herself, wondering what girl in her right mind would snag Adrien Agreste's attention just to give up after one date.

"Relationships aren't exactly my strong suit." Adrien flushed. "Most of the girls I've been with were just interested in being with a famous model and I don't really live up to their expectations."

"And what is the farthest you have ever gone on one of these "dates". Alya asked, clearly not as taken in by Adrien's confession as Marinette.

Adrien lifted his glass. "A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell." He replied, downing it in a single self-assured swig.

"You're no fun." Alya pouted.

"I think it's sweet." Marinette said unthinkingly, gazing at Adrien as he clumsily refilled his glass.

"And once again you confirm your place as my favorite roommate." Adrien grinned at her, reaching into the box and snatching up a macaroon.

The sound of Alya's cell phone ringing caused them all to jump and then laugh at their own jittery behavior.

"Oh the boy is calling!" Alya trilled excitedly answering the phone and standing up to head to her room.

"Hey put it on speaker I want to talk to Nino!" Adrien called out, trying to stand and instead rolling onto his back laughing.

"You should have thought of that before you declared her your favorite roommate!" Alya called, disappearing into her room and shutting the door on them.

Adrien clambered onto his hands and knees and crawled over towards Marinette, his nose poking against her shoulder.

"Do you want to keep playing?" He asked with a boyish smile.

Marinette's twisted her fingers into the hem of her tee-shirt as she fought the urge to dig her fingers into his hair.

"It seems kind of silly with just the two of us." She said, staring down at him longingly.

"Oh, ok." He said, brows furrowing in disappointment but still not pulling away. She could feel his breath warm against the exposed skin of her arm and it sent tingles of awareness through her.

"We can keep talking if you want though." She said breathlessly, losing her internal battle and reaching out to brush a stray lock of hair away from his face.

Adrien beamed and collapsed down onto the floor, his head settling in her lap as her heart stopped.

"So you really had a crush on Chat Noir?" He asked with a crooked grin that was so different from his practiced model smiles.

"You aren't going to let this go are you?"

"What can I say, I'm curious."

"Why does it matter? It was two years ago!"

"Let's just say I wouldn't have guessed that you felt that way. I didn't really get to know you as well as I wanted to back then." He stated softly, his eyes looking at her with so much tender affection that Marinette would have honestly considered giving Papillion her miraculous if it would keep that expression on his face.

Adrien's eyes drifted shut as he unconsciously nuzzled against her leg. While Marinette was usually the second in line to squash down Alya's crazy idea (Nino being the reigning champion), operation get Adrien drunk was having some undeniably pleasant side effects. She wondered how much she would have to adjust her finances to keep him semi-buzzed until she finally managed to convince him to fall in love with her.

"So what made you stop liking Chat?"

"Oh come on, will you please drop it?" Marinette whined. "Besides I didn't stop liking him as a person I just think it's stupid to hang onto a childhood crush." Liar. She was a filthy, filthy Liar. She was going to have to take over Lila's place as the queen of Liar-town.

"I suppose it is pointless to wait for something you know isn't going to happen." Adrien said in a voice that was so meek and dejected that Marinette wanted to cry.

"Well you never know." She offered at last hoping to get the smile back on his face. He opened one eye and looked up at her skeptically. "Five years from now I could be inviting you to my wedding with Paris' beloved pun master."

Adrien laughed. "I would absolutely be attending that wedding."

"Laugh now, but you will all weep in envy at the glory that is my wedding with Chat Noir." Marinette teased. "Everyone will have to wear masks so that my poor husband to be doesn't feel self-conscious."

"Wait, so you wouldn't just marry his civilian-self?" Adrien said frowning.

"Adrien I am describing a fake wedding to a celebrity super-hero with whom I am not involved and whose identity I don't know, can you just run with it?"

"Oh right. Sorry. Please continue." He gave her a sheepish smile.

"Thank you. Like I said everyone will be wearing masks, and all the guests will be asked to wear black or white. Grey is also acceptable"

"Isn't it considered bad form to wear white at a wedding?"  
"Only because the bride is wearing white, which I won't be."

"And what would you be wearing?" Adrien raised an eyebrow, and the combination of the lazy smirking expression and his drink flushed face was causing her heart to race.

"Green."

"Would I get to wear green as well?" Adrien grinned.

"I told you already guests are in black and white."

"Yes but what about the bridal party?"

"Oh so you think Chat Noir would make you a groomsman?"

"I am quite confident that you would insist on me being part of the set."

"In that case I suppose you would be in black and green as well."

"Sounds like a good plan." Adrien said softly, reaching up to tap her on the nose. However, lost in his own- more than likely alcohol infused- thoughts he didn't pull away. His finger stayed lightly pressed against the tip of her nose as Marinette struggled not to scream in frustration. Her own traitorous mind filling with thoughts of a very different wedding. Of her in a brilliant white gown, reaching out to take the hand that was currently touching her face as he led her to the altar.

"Too bad I am not that lucky." Marinette said shakily, thankful that Adrien was oblivious to her thoughts.

"Hey maybe I can help with that!" Adrien shot up and began frantically searching around the room before triumphantly producing one of his duffle bags.

"I know I threw it in here." He muttered rummaging through the overstuffed pile of assorted belongs before ultimately turning the entire thing upside down.  
Marinette gasp as the contents of the rather large bag spilled out over the coffee table.

"What are you even looking for?" She asked slightly horrified as she took in the mess of photographs, electronics, books, fencing foils, and various other knickknacks and sundries.

"That lucky charm you game me back in my first year remember? I always kept it next to my computer for when…" Adrien trailed off suddenly his body tensing.

"Adrien what's wrong?"

"What is this… I must have left it in the bag…" He muttered to himself, all awareness of anything else in the room vanishing as he stared down at whatever he had found in the pile of belongings.

"Adrien?"

Marinette doubted that he even heard her as he straighten, walking a few steps away from the table, a very familiar blue scarf clutched in his fist.

Marinette sucked in a sharp breath.

"I can't believe I never saw it. All the signs were there. I just didn't want to admit to the kind of person he was." Adrien confessed, his eyes still glued to the piece of cloth in front of him.

Maybe she should go and get Alya. She was not prepared to deal with Adrien having an emotional meltdown on her own.

"You know this is still the best gift I ever got from my father since we lost Mom?" Adrien declared bitterly.

Marinette whimpered as Adrien toyed with the fabric, gently caressing the first gift that she had ever given him with practiced movements that exposed how well loved it truly was.

"I hate him. I hate him so much. He deserves to… but I can't even do anything about it. I am too much of a coward to do anything but run away. Part of me is still hoping that I will wake up and everything will just be a terrible dream. Why am I so stupid that I still think that he can't really be doing this."

Adrien glared down at the scarf in his hand with a look of anguished disgust, frustrated tears watering the corners of his eyes.

"Maybe I should burn it."  
"No! You can't." Marinette cried, stumbling clumsily to her feet and grabbing Adrien's arm, her own face twisted into a fearful pout.

"Why not? I don't want anything of his. He doesn't deserve anything from me, I don't even think he cares what happens to me! Why should I hold onto anything that he ever gave me?"

"Because that wasn't from your father!" Marinette cried, her eyes widening as she heard the words she had sworn she would never say echo in her ears.

"What?" Adrien whispered, his own eyes wide with shock as he stared down at her.

Marinette wasn't sure if it was the alcohol in her system or the fear of what her next words would do to their friendship but the room seemed to spin around her.

"Your father didn't get that for you, I did." She whispered.

"But… How…"

"I don't know. I didn't get a chance to give it to you on your birthday, so I dropped it off at your house. The next day you seemed convinced that it had been a gift from your father and you just seemed so sure that I couldn't…" She waited, heart thudding in her chest for him to react. Would he be angry? Upset?

"You made this for me?" He breathed, his mesmerized gaze flitting between the scarf in his hands and the girl trembling in front of him.

She swallowed. "Yeah."

"And you didn't say anything, for years?"

"I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"Because… because…" She swallowed again. "Because I just wanted you to be happy."

The scarf dropped from his hands as he continued to stare at her openmouthed, and unreadable expression on his face.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Don't be sorry." Adrien said, stepping forward and closing the distance between them, his hand cupping her face. "Please don't be sorry."

Marinette couldn't have told you who moved first, but one moment Adrien was staring down at her in bewildered gratitude and the next she was wrapped up in his arms, his lips pressed against hers in a needy kiss.

She could feel her knees go weak as she clung to him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, fingers digging into his hair as she desperately tried to memorize the feel of his lips and his hands.

She knew that Adrien didn't love her, not the way that she loved him. This kiss was born of a loneliness from years of parental neglect, a frantic need to prove that someone cared what happened to him in the most tangible of way, only spurred on by exhaustion and liquor.

Still if Adrien wanted to validate his sense of self-worth by kissing her senseless then God Damn she was happy to oblige.

She gently opened her lips, encouraging Adrien to deepen the kiss, and moaned in pleasure when he took the hint, tilting his head and exploring the inside of her mouth with his tongue.

If Marinette thought she was tipsy before it was nothing compared to this! She was drunk on the taste and the feel of him. Her thoughts were shattered by the warmth of his touch and if asked she may not have been able to tell you her own name as she drank him in.

She wantonly pulled him closer, letting out a startled cry as she backed into the arm of the couch, tumbling over it and landing with a pleasant thud with Adrien on top of her.

"God I missed this." Adrien muttered into her skin as he continued to trail wet openmouthed kisses along the side of her neck.

"Been a while since you've kissed a girl?" Marinette teased although it came out as more of a strangled moan as he sucked at the skin along her jawline.

Adrien chuckled. "Not exactly what I meant."

Her response was lost, as was all coherent thought, as he effortlessly flipped her onto her back against the couch and claimed her mouth in another searing kiss.

In the midst of her whirling thoughts, she happily realized that Chat had finally been dethroned from his place as her favorite make out partner.

His hands buried themselves under her shirt, feverishly clawing up and down her sides as if desperate for contact. His hands swept across the planes of her back until he hit the clasp of her bra. He suddenly pulled back, panting and glassy eyed, as if it had only just occurred to him that he had been rather thoroughly feeling her up. She whimpered at the loss.

"I'm sorry." He said reflexively, eyeing her heavily rumpled shirt with a becoming blush, "Did you want… I mean… can I…"

"God yes." Marinette interrupted, reaching down and yanking the tee-shirt over her own head before he could change his mind.

He hesitated only for a moment, eyes widening at the innocuous pink bra and the impressive display of skin before him. Marinette barely had time to blush under his appreciative gaze before he was on top of her again, eagerly exploring every inch of her exposed flesh with lips and tongue and teeth.

She moaned and panted at his ministrations, letting out a series of incoherent sounds that might have been his name as he traced the contours of her neck and slowly lavished attention on her exposed clevage. Her fingers clawed at his back, and when she became too frustrated at the barrier of clothing still blocking her from his own burning skin she yanked at the offending fabric until he too separated from her long enough to remove it entirely.

Marinette ran her hands over his chest and back reveling in the feeling of skin against skin. She hesitantly leaned up and began lightly pressing a trail of kisses along his jawline and when he showed no signs of objecting snagging his earlobe lightly between her teeth with a playful nip. Adrien growled in pleasure, his own attentions gaining intensity in light of her boldness.

Marinette's heart soared. She began hungrily kissing every inch of him that she could reach, licking and sucking her way down his throat and shoulders before gently sinking her teeth into the tender flesh above his collarbone.

This time it was Marinette who pushed him away. "Oh god! I completely forgot, I can't be marking you up like a sex-crazed teenager! You're a world famous super model, what is a photographer going to say if…" Her embarrassed rambling was cut off as Adrien once again captured her lips. She melted into the embrace letting out a blissful sigh as he ran his fingers though her hair.

"Marinette." He gasped, breaking the kiss and nuzzling against the side of her cheek.

"Yeah?" She replied dreamily.

"I really, REALLY don't care what they think."

It was all the invitation she needed.

Everything became a blur.

Marinette wasn't sure how long they stayed entwined on the couch, kissing and necking until they could barely breath. She wanted the night to go on forever.

Unfortunately gravity was a fickle mistress and eventually the weight of Adrien sprawled out on top of her on the no longer plush couch began to cause her muscles to groan in protest.

She regretfully wriggled out from underneath him, sliding her feet onto the floor so she could sit up and regain some sense of composure.

"No!"

She was instantly pulled down against the well-defined chest that she had just been happily nibbling on for the better part of an hour.

"Don't go." Adrien cried softly, burying his face into her neck and holding her tightly. "Please, don't leave me." The plea was small and strangled. It wasn't the voice of the successful supermodel, Paris' darling and heir to the most influential and successful business empire in Europe. It was the voice of a young boy who had lost both of his parents, one to the unknown and the other to his own grief, a boy who desperately needed love and affection and who spent far too long robbed of both, a boy who was often scared of being anything less than perfect, even around his closest friends, for fear of driving them away.

"I'm not going anywhere." She promised, running her fingers through his hair and allowing him to hold her. She continued to caress him softly until his breathing slowed, and the last thing she remembered was the feeling of the softest of kisses against her neck as she drifted off to sleep.

…

Alya awoke to a pounding headache and the uncomfortable feeling of her face pressed against the keyboard of her laptop.

Great. She had fallen asleep while on Skype again. She powered on the computer and groaned at the display of IM messages filling her screen and confirming her fears.

Nino loved to torment her whenever this happened.

87 days.

Alya groaned as she wearily prepped for the day. Hopefully a strong cup of coffee would clear her head.

It took every ounce of restraint that Alya possessed not to scream in delight at the sight that greeted her when she finally meandered into the living room. Curled on the couch, scantily clad and covered in more love-bites than she could count, were Adrien and Marinette.

She knew that she shouldn't. It was a terrible idea, one that she would never even contemplate if she was properly caffeinated. Marinette would probably refuse to speak to her for a week. But she had been waiting for this for five years. FIVE DAMN YEARS.

Before she could talk herself out of it she snapped a quick photo of the sleeping couple and posted it to her account with the following status: #called it haters!

…

Across town an impeccably dressed middle aged man sat in his pristine office, unreservedly transfixed for the first time in his life by a popular internet gossip column.

His gaze lingered on the image of a happy young couple, laughing at each other in fashionable (if generic) ensembles. He read through the article for the 7th time, committing the words to memory and sorting the information into promising clues vs sensationalized speculation.

His focus again turned to the picture, analyzing the expressions and body language with the careful expertise one only achieved after years of experience in the industry. Interesting, very interesting.

"Sir."

He started from his reverie and turned to face his assistant. "Yes?"

"You may want to see this." She said coolly, handing over her tablet with an uncharacteristic gleam in her eye.

He quickly took in the amateur snapshot and found himself smirking in amusement at the colorful rant that accompanied the re-blogged photo on the screen.

Mlle. Bourgeois had always had a soft spot for Adrien.

"Well I think this counts as adequate confirmation." He stated, handing back the device.

"I've verified the authenticity of the photo as well as the timestamp, also I have the address."

"Excellent. Get the car."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Blindsided

 _That's right ladies, Adrien Agreste, French model and fashion icon is 18, graduated, and slated to begin a full time career beginning with a series of international engagements across Europe and the US. This European heart-throb is sexy, single, and hitting the open road for the launch of his father's newest line. And now you could have a chance to meet him in our exclusive contest to win 4 day tickets with airfare to New York Fashion Week!_

Excerpt- Cosmo-girl (International edition)

{Four Day earlier}

Adrien regretted not springing for the extra shot of espresso as he desperately tried to focus on Francois' rapid instructions.

"No, no, no! I need more longing! More despair! I need to see the burning in your eyes!"

At least Francois was consistent, and consistent usually translated to predictable. Adrien couldn't count the number of hours he had spent listening to the man describe the true importance of a yearning expression when one is doing an ad campaign. At least it had been easy an emotion to relate to. Yearning for freedom, yearning for friends, yearning to just once fall for a girl who was remotely interested in him as more than a friend.

Today though Adrien simply stretched himself carefully into the right position to properly catch the optimal angle of light and thought longingly of his king sized bed.

"Yes! Much better! Now tilt your chin just a bit… no too high… no… up… down… yes! Stay!"

He really was going to have to talk to Natalie about his scheduling. Why on earth had anyone thought it was a good idea to have him fly back the morning after the London run for an 8am photoshoot.

At least his exhaustion didn't seem to be translating onto the camera. Or if it was it coincided with the longing that Francois was so passionate about.

He had been here for 6 hours already and he still needed to go into the main office to review some paperwork for the proposed _Salio_ buyout.

"Alright now we need something in profile! Where is my wind! The hair must flow!"

Adrien sighed.

…

"I'm home." Adrien muttered as he walked into the darkened mansion 5 hours later.

He trudged up the familiar stairs and wondered for the hundredth time why he never bothered to get his own place.

Even with the amount of time he spent traveling for work it couldn't be any more demoralizing to come home to an empty underutilized apartment than an oversized mausoleum of a mansion. It wasn't like he couldn't afford it.

"This constant travelling is really too much Adrien." Plagg complained, perching on his shoulder. "I am so tired I don't even think I could eat."

"You can always eat Plagg." Adrien grumbled, but he understood his kwami's feelings.

The London campaign had been a brilliant success. His first time not just modeling and assisting, but actually managing and overseeing the entire advertising operation, spearheading the assorted press conferences, and even handling the production of the final runway show.

Adrien may have inherited no design talent from Gabriel, his few horrifying attempts at creative sketches had quickly dispelled any doubt on that measure, but he excelled at managing the business side of the corporation. Unlike his father, he was even genuinely liked by most of the employees despite his age- probably because he was less likely to drive them to tears at any given moment.

His father had been thrilled. Hell, he had even smiled on more than one occasion which was a feat that normally took months of effort on Adrien's part during his school days.

A loud, jarring thump startled him and he spun around the quiet hallway looking for any signs of life.

At the far end of the cavernous hall he could just make out the soft glow of a lit room from beneath the doorway.

"I guess father decided to work from home today." Adrien said, feeling slightly more energetic. It was rare that they were both home at the same time without a pile of work engagements looming for one of both of them. Despite working directly for his father, it was often a chore to have conversations about anything other than distribution lines and stock values without scheduling a 'family meeting'.

"Maybe he remembered that I was scheduled to come back." He said hopefully. The skeptical looking cat on his shoulder merely peered down the hallway with an intense glowing green gaze.

Monday had been his parents wedding anniversary, which was always a dark event in the Agreste household. In general much of the _Gabriel_ staff had learned to coordinate holidays and sick leave with any major anniversaries for fear of crossing the boss's path while he was in one of his moods.

Adrien had gotten better at handling his own grief through the years, though his father had never protested his empty schedule on the day of her disappearance, and more often than not was the only person besides Nathalie who could manage to be in a 10 foot radius of the man without wanting to hurl themselves out of a window whenever another reminder of his wife's continued absence came to pass.

Plagg's ears twitched and the little kwami flew from his shoulder and buried himself into his inside jacket pocket.

"I'm tired. So are you. We should go to sleep instead of suffering through another one of your fathers boring speeches." Plagg called out from his hiding place.

"This will just take a minute Plagg." Adrien said turning and heading in the direction of his father's private office. "Perhaps I can convince him to come out to dinner tonight now that the tour is finally over."

"We can do that tomorrow after we have slept." Plagg argued.

Adrien was surprised to hear voices filtering down the hallway as he quietly approached his father's study. No one in his father's employ was usually careless enough to leave doors open. Perhaps Nathalie had some sort of emergency she needed to discuss? They had been having a lot of issues with distribution out of Florence. But as he drew closer he could distinguish that the other voice in the room while light, was definitely male.

He felt the small prickle of tiny claws digging into his skin.

"Adrien please just go to your room and get some sleep." Plagg begged, and Adrien was dimly aware of the absence of his usual drawling whine. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and his entire being tingled with awareness.

His hand, which he had instinctively raised to knock on the partially opened door, was frozen in place. He found himself unable to do anything but eavesdrop on the conversation taking place inside.

"The only reason I am bothering to consult you at all is because there is a lack of experts in ancient Chinese coded manuscripts for me to turn to." His father drawled sarcastically.

"But Master, how many times must I try to explain to you that these powers were never intended to be used in this way?"

"Apparently as many times as I must inform you that your opinion is neither wanted or needed." Gabriel shot back. "Now answer the question Nooroo."

"Yes in theory that would allow you to increase you power base."

"Excellent."

"But Master…"

"Quite Nooroo."

"This can't go on forever!"

"Which is why eventually I will be successful."

"but Master…"

"If I haven't given up after 8 years what makes you think you can change my mind you worthless creature?" Gabriel roared.

Adrien frantically pushed the door open desperate to intervene for whatever poor employee had managed to damage his father's unshakable cool.

An eerie silence settled over the room.

Gabriel looked up, startled by his son's sudden appearance. For a moment he almost looked guilty before his face was once again locked into the expression of calm control that had become his signature.

Adrien simply stared, trying to make sense of the sight that greeted him- His father sitting behind the desk patiently waiting for his reaction. The pile of books and papers spread out in front of him. And the small purple kwami with butterfly wings and a heartbroken expression.

"Father?" Adrien asked, his voice trembling. Gabriel broke the gaze first, clearing his throat and taking a moment to clean his glasses before responding.

"Well this is unfortunate."

…

Adrien felt his knees going weak. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't possible. His gaze spun wildly around the room, trying to look anywhere but at the small purple creature hovering at his father's shoulder. It didn't work.

There was no one else in the room. No trick. No other explanation.

"That's a kwami." He said at last, pointing at the offending being with a shaky finger.

"That is correct." Gabriel stated lightly.

"But that means that you… you're…"

"I am le Papillion." His father finished for him.

There was no hesitation. No trace of shame. It was as if Adrien had asked him for the time instead of accused him of being a feared criminal.

"How long?"

Gabriel arched an eyebrow. "I think you know the answer to that question."

"Right." Adrien said embarrassed, running his hand through his hair. The he realized, he shouldn't be embarrassed by his stupid question! He had every right to be overwhelmed by the fact that his father was his arch enemy! He clenched his fists at his sides and glared at his father.

"You've been hiding this from me, this whole time?"

"You are hardly one to throw stones Adrien, unless you have been secretly leaving notes around the house every time you disappear to run around Paris in a black leather cat suit."

Adrien staggered back a few steps, the blood draining from his face.

"You knew? But how… I mean… you _knew_?"  
"I am your father of course I knew. What sort of parent would be stupid enough not to recognize their own child behind a paltry mask?"

"You've tried to kill me!"

"Don't be ridiculous I have done no such thing. Although I suppose it is fair to admit that a conversation about your more reckless behavior is long overdue."

"You've been terrorizing Paris for years!"

Gabriel rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the manuscript in front of him. "Again a gross exaggeration. The only thing I have ever attempted is to gather the miraculous. What the akuma's do with the powers I bestow upon them is completely on their own conscience." Gabriel replied, tapping his pencil against the manuscript and jotting down a few notes.

"You've destroyed the city more times than I can count!"

"And yet I see no lasting damage whatsoever." Gabriel didn't even bother to look up this time. "You're little lady friend has seen to that."

The whole scene reminded Adrien of when he was small and he would come into this very office crying that he would die of heatstroke if he didn't get any ice cream, more often than not with his mother as an accomplice.

Gabriel would always react with the same mildly amused exasperation, rolling his eyes and listening unsympathetically to their 'theatrics', refusing to indulge them until they either changed tactics or he finished his work and could afford to simply give in to their ridiculous demands.

The fact that his father could treat a revelation of this scale with the same patronizing humor was horrifying.

"You're insane!" Adrien blurted out stumbling back until he fell against the wall, grateful for the support.

"Adrien," His father stated flatly, starting up at him with a disapproving scowl, "what have I told you about being too emotional?"

"Why are you even… oh my god… you are trying to get mom back aren't you? That's what this is about."

The silence was all the answer he needed.

"Oh my God. Oh my GOD!"

"Go to your room and get some rest, we can talk about this when you are being rational."

"How am I supposed to be rational when my father is a super villain?!"

"I would recommend you start by lowering your voice." Gabriel replied evenly. Putting his pencil down and leaning back in his office chair. Apparently his son's impending breakdown had finally merited his full attention, Adrien thought bitterly.

"Why didn't you just take the ring from me if you've known this whole time?"

"Because that wouldn't have been suspicious." Gabriel drawled sarcastically.

"So what you were just never were going to tell me?"

"Of course not, what would it accomplish? After all, as we can see you are handling the situation so well."

"Oh because my emotional well-being is such a high priority for you!"

"Adrien!" His father cried, seeming for the first time in the entire conversation to be genuinely concerned, rising up from the desk and approaching his overwhelmed son.

The stress and hurt were too much, and Adrien could weakly feel himself sliding down the wall and landing on the floor.

"I can't believe this. You've hurt people. You've turned my friends into monsters! I don't even know who you are anymore!"

His father sighed, removing his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Adrien, you are my son. Why is it so difficult for you to understand that everything I am doing is for the best?"

"So what are you going to do with me now?"

"Adrien…" Gabriel began reaching out to clasp his son on the shoulder. Adrien sprang to his feet, scrambling away from his father's touch and clutching his ring to his chest. Gabriel let out another sigh of frustration. "I told you before, you are far too emotional for us to have this conversation. Go and get some rest and we will talk about this later over dinner."

Adrien stared wide eyed at his father for a few more seconds before turning and running from the room.

Gabriel walked back to his desk and collapsed into his office chair, his composure finally cracking as he dug his fingers into his hair.

That had not gone well.

"Master?"

"Shut up Nooroo."

…

Adrien ran to his room slamming the door behind him. For good measure he grabbed his desk chair and wedged it under the door handle.

Not that a barred door would really be all that effective against a miraculous holder.

Plus there were two other doors into the room.

Out of pure childish spite Adrien quickly barricaded the other entrances as well. If his father was going to come after him he would at least have to make the effort of breaking down the door.

"This can't be happening. It can't. Wake up wake up wake up." Adrien muttered, sinking to the floor his fingers digging into his hair and sending the expertly styled locks into disarray.

"Hey, take a deep breath ok kid?" Plagg said worriedly, hovering in front of Adrien's face.

Adrien sucked in air which erupted from his throat in choked hysterical sobs.

"Calm down! Adrien look at me! Breathe ok? In… now out… ok that was good now again." Plagg instructed, his tiny paws clutching Adrien's nose as if to support him.

After several tense minutes Adrien's panic attack had subsided and he had graduated to pacing franticly about the room.

"You're going to pass out if you keep this up." Plagg warned from his place atop the computer monitor. It was a testament to his own worry that he had not yet touched the half eaten wheel of cheese sitting on the desk.

"How did we not see this coming? Was he that good at hiding it or have I just been completely blind this whole time?" Adrien ranted. "I mean shouldn't we have seen something?" He turned at looked at Plagg who stared guiltily out the window. "Plagg?"

Plagg's ears flattened, and for the first time since Adrien had met the small god he looked embarrassed.

"I figured out that Nooroo was here back during your first year as Chat Noir."

"You knew too?! Is there anyone in this house who hasn't been lying to me for the last five years?" Adrien shouted, grabbing a book off of the desk and hurling it across the room, knocking over a vase with a satisfying crash.

"I wasn't lying to you I simply never bothered to inform you of the situation."

"And that somehow makes it better?" Adrien spat.

"What exactly should I have said? By the way you know this evil supervillain I just asked you to defeat? Turns out it's your emotionally repressed father on an insane quest to find your missing mother. Enjoy the next 10 years of therapy."

Adrien wanted to yell back but on some still functioning level he knew that Plagg was right.

He was falling apart over this now, at 15 it probably would have destroyed him.

He settled for grabbing another book off the desk and flinging it as hard as he could.

"As much as I hate to agree with your father about anything, you were better off not knowing. You aren't exactly taking this well." Plagg mumbled.

"What am I supposed to do Plagg?" Adrien asked desperately. "He's my father!"

"You don't have to do this by yourself kid." The kwami said softly, landing on Adrien's shoulder and nuzzling against his cheek. "It might be up to Chat Noir to fight against Papillion, but no one is asking Adrien to turn in his father."

"Wouldn't that be the heroic thing to do? Capture the miraculous and end this fight once and for all?"

"Not if it's going to kill you in the process."

"Thanks Plagg."

"So what do you want to do kid?"

"I don't know. I can't stay here though." He stared around the room, he wondered if he would even miss it when he was gone.

"Can we at least raid the kitchen on the way out?"

"Yeah sure."

…

It took Adrien about 30 minutes to throw everything he cared about into a few bags and change into something less conspicuous than his hand tailored suit, and another 10 minutes to raid the kitchen of every scrap of Camembert he could find. He left his phone, tablet and computer, saving any important files onto an external drive. It didn't take a genius to know that all of his electronics were more than likely equipped with tracking devices.

It wasn't until he was several blocks from the house that he realized he had no idea where he was heading.

On the few occasions when he had been truly angry with his father, which usually only resulted in a night or two away from the mansion, he would go and crash with Nino. But this time his friend was hundreds of miles away.

He knew he could always stay with Chloe at the hotel. She would happily set him up with his own private suite for as long as he wanted. But that would also end up posted all over every bit of social media in existence. Besides, Chloe and her father were friendly with Gabriel and would be unlikely to bar him from the hotel no matter how distressed Adrien may be.

Even an anonymous hotel would host the same problems. He was a celebrity. The minute anyone recognized him it would be all over the tabloids and then he would be facing not just his father but a legion of stalkers and photographers taking advantage of the easy access and "public" location.

He just wanted somewhere to hide. Somewhere he could sort out his jumbled emotions and maybe figure out what he was going to do.

He continued to walk aimlessly for several more minutes before he caught sight of an elderly woman closing up a small local bakery.

A bakery!

Marinette! He could go to her and Alya's place at least for tonight. Hopefully it wouldn't be too much of an inconvenience. He desperately wracked his brain in an effort to remember if they would be home from their various classes and jobs yet. Wait! That's right, Nino had filled him in the day before he left for the final leg of the London campaign. Alya had lost her job and…

Adrien felt his whole body sag in relief for the first time all day.

"Taxi!" He hailed, not caring that it was sure to be overpriced.

They were looking for a roommate.

…

"Ok so bed's there, plenty of food in the kitchen if you get hungry and Mari and I will be right out here if you need us." Alya said with a forced smile. He appreciated the effort even if they both knew she wasn't fooling anyone.

She closed the door behind her and he could hear the faint sounds of a movie in the background.

"OK Plagg you can come out now." A black blur shot out of his shoulder bag whizzing around the room and hissing in agitation.

"I forgot how much I hate being cooped up in that thing." Plagg muttered. "You should have grabbed an outfit with pockets."

"I was in a bit of a hurry." Adrien glowered.

"Well at least we aren't going to be homeless anymore." Plagg joked.

"This was a terrible idea. What if I put them in danger? You know if my father finds out that I am staying here he is going to be furious. They deserve better than this."

"You thought it was a great idea 20 minutes ago."

"Yes but that was before I realized that I was dragging them into my problems!"  
"Well what do you suggest then? Grab a plane to Figi?"

"I don't know!"

"You need to relax Adrien. Get some sleep. If you still think this is a bad idea in the morning then we can figure something else out ok?"

"Ok." Adrien conceded, sitting on the edge of the bed and taking several deep breaths.

"We're gonna be alright, aren't we Plagg?"

"Of course we are. You've got me after all."

"Yeah."

"Plus you're little girlfriend seems happy to see you."

"Marinette's not my girlfriend."

"I didn't say which one I was talking about." Plagg said with an infuriating grin.

"But… what… I mean…"

"Oh relax kid, I am just messing with you." Plagg cackled, zipping around the room and exploring all of Alya's various electronics.

"I knew that." Adrien muttered.

He crawled into the bed and tried to relax.

'Think of anything other than the fact that your father is evil.' He told himself desperately. 'Think of puppies… no puppies are loud and obnoxious. Kittens. Kittens are good. Cute adorable fuzzy black kittens. I can't believe he knew that I was Chat Noir this whole time and he never… ok no. Not kittens. Video Games! The new Legendary Heroes of Altea comes out next week, I should grab a copy. I think Ultimate Mecha Strike Extreme+ is out soon too. Too bad Nino isn't around since it seems I'll have a lot more free time. I could always ask Marinette to play.'

Marinette.

For the first time that evening his thought streamlined into one cohesive unit.

She had looked so cute, gaping at his undoubtedly disastrous appearance, her obvious concern written all over her face.

His strange, quirky friend who often stumbled over her words and seemed to change moods and expressions faster than he could follow. No matter how hard he had tried in the past five years he still couldn't figure that girl out.

She was the biggest 'what if' he had ever know.

…

(2 years earlier)

Chat stared out into the Paris night from his place on the roof of the school.

He was scheduled to leave tomorrow for Milan.

He knew that he would only be gone a few months, it wasn't as though he was leaving Paris for good, and it wasn't like he couldn't get back in a matter of hours if a true emergency called for it. Still he couldn't help but feel heartsick as he stared out across the skyline of the city he had fought to protect for so long.

He wondered again if he was doing the right thing.

Nino thought he was being 'the world's biggest, most masochistic idiot.' True he was fairly indifferent to his modeling career, he had been at it so long it was more of a habit than a passion, but it wasn't as though Adrien hated working in the fashion industry in general. The idea of managing a multi-billion, international business empire someday wasn't the worst way to making a living, he could even see parts of the job being potentially exciting.

Besides, father had agreed that if he continued to model full time while taking on other responsibilities at the company until he was 21 that he could have 2 years completely off to study anything he chose. Of course his father was also fairly well convinced that by that time Adrien would have settled into his new role and wouldn't need to go out of his way to find his ultimate profession.

Adrien didn't really know. Time would tell and all that. What he did know was that it had been years since he had seen his father look as genuinely happy as when he had said he was interested in learning the business side of the industry after he graduated. Adrien had seen more of his father in the last 3 months of prep work than he had in the last 3 years, and as pathetic as it might make him, he couldn't help but hope that this would be a positive change for their relationship.

Obviously he had told Ladybug about his plans as soon as his father had announced the 4 month Milan campaign.

Both of the heroes had been gone for small stretches before due to complications with their regular lives, but never more than a few weeks at a time. If his Lady had expressed even the slightest hesitation at his absence he would have dropped his plans entirely. After all, the safety of Paris as well as his partner had and always would trump everything else in his life. But while Ladybug had of course been sorry to hear that he would be away and would miss his help in their ongoing battle against the ever tiresome Papillion, she had seemed genuinely happy for him to pursue his own dreams.

Adrien fought the painful clenching in his chest as he thought about that particular conversation. It had been the final straw in a long overdue realization. No matter how many times he had told himself that he just needed to be patient, that it was destiny, he had finally accepted the truth. Ladybug would never look at him as anything more than a friend.

He knew that he would always love her. She was his partner, his other half and his best friend. But after years of hoping that maybe their relationship would progress to something more Adrien had finally begun to question whether or not it was worth it to continue to hold out for something that was in all likelihood never going to happen. Besides, was it really fair of him to want more from their partnership than what they already had? Shouldn't he be content with the amazing friendship they shared and leave her free to pursue her own ambitions? He knew that she had feelings for someone else. For all her skills, Ladybug's poker face was severely lacking. Maybe he would just end up hurting them both by fighting for something that wasn't meant to be.

He had watched his various friends stumbling in and out of relationships. Alya and Nino, defying the expectations of most of their peers, we still going strong. And as months turned into years Adrien found himself longing for someone that he could truly confide in. Someone to cuddle with and who would steal his shirts (which seemed to be a thing with girls or so Nino had informed him).

Maybe it was selfish, but Adrien was tired of always feeling like he was holding back. As Adrien he needed to be poised and perfect to uphold his name and image, as Chat he could never share the details of his personal life without risking his identity. Was it so much to want one person around whom he could just relax and be himself? Maybe someone who would actually appreciate his terrible jokes.

His steadfast loyalty to a girl who didn't return his affections had left him suffering through a lot of lonely nights.

He had decided that it was time to move on. There were other girls out there, someone was bound to find him at least moderately likeable.

Someone other than Chloe.

True maybe other girls weren't his Lady, but that didn't mean that he couldn't hope to find someone who was still brave and capable and beautiful, and…

"Oh God Dammit!"

His cat ears twitched, latching onto the frustrated cry even from 2 blocks away.

Speak of the Devil.

Chat quickly ran the short distance over to the familiar bakery, hopping silently onto the roof and grinning down at his unsuspecting classmate.

"Something wrong Princess?"

Marinette screamed in surprise, whirling around to glare at her intruder before hastily schooling her features into a look of innocent admiration.

"Chat Noir! I can't believe you've come to visit me again. I must be the luckiest girl in Paris." She cooed.

For once he didn't even bother to suppress his chuckle.

"You do know that I know you are faking right?"

Marinette's face melted into a look of complete shock. "What?"

"Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the attention, but don't you think it's time to come clean?"

"How did you know?" She pouted, seeming genuinely put out by his admission.

"Well for one thing your voice goes about a half octave higher when you lie, and for another I can hear you when you mutter to yourself behind my back."

Marinette's face turned a brilliant scarlet as she stared slack jawed at her feline companion.

"But that means that you must have…"  
"Known the whole time? Yeah pretty much."

"But you've never said… you've visited me dozens of times! Why would you do that if you knew I was faking?"

Chat smiled kindly at her. "Well I like to think that we are friends in spite of the teasing."

He saw her expression morph again, this time into a look of genuine affection. "Of course we are friends." She said guiltily. "But why would you let me go on pretending, for years I might add?"

"Well there are any number of reasons. Perhaps I like the attention. Perhaps I just wanted to see the look on your face when I finally told you that I knew you were messing with me, priceless by the way. Or maybe because as my starstruck superfan you were far more likely to bring me cookies." He grinned fiendishly.

"You totally did it for the cookies didn't you." Marinette said flatly.

He laughed again. "Oh come now princess, was it really so painful to act like you adore me?" He teased.

She blushed and looked away, no doubt analyzing every interaction they had ever had and wondering how the whole situation must had looked from his point of view.

Chat smiled to himself.

He always enjoyed getting a chance to know Marinette like this. His clumsy classmate had a terrible habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and he had often found himself carrying her away from akuma attacks throughout the years. Back in the middle of their first year of lycée he had taken to dropping by the check is on her after attacks.

Her continued act of the start struck fangirl had amused him, especially as her acting skills rarely lasted more than 5 minutes into a conversation before she was teasing and sassing him in a way that she never did when he was Adrien. No matter how much closer they had become in their regular lives, Marinette had remained almost painfully nice to him, and he was almost never on the receiving end of her lively wit the way Alya or Nino were. Maybe it was cheating to use his alter ego to experience this side of her, but Adrien had found comfort in knowing that at least in this way he wasn't missing out.

It had become normal that he would drop by and pester her whenever he was running around the city and caught her out on her balcony. Usually only for a short while, at most an hour if they felt like having a real conversation. Still it had become a comfortable routine, and almost 4 years after that fateful day in the rain he could truly say that she was now one of his closest friends.

It was hard to say when he had first started thinking about her as possibly being more than that.

Of course she had always been cute. Even back in college he had caught himself watching her out of the corner of his eye and even occasionally showing off around her. He was a teenage boy, it happens. Yet in the early days of their friendship he was so blinded to anyone not covered in red and black spots that he had never looked at Marinette as any sort of legitimate romantic prospect.

Now though…

Chat lightly jumped off the roof and came to stand in front of his friend, lifting one of her hands to bow over it dramatically.

"So what seems to be troubling you tonight Princess?"

"Why would you think I am troubled?" She laughed, but her voice trembled and she didn't meet his gaze.

"Well I heard you swearing from the roof of the school."

"I tripped. Besides your cat hearing is ridiculous and we both know it. You could probably hear a pin drop from two floors down if you made an effort."

"There is also the fact that you are wearing your cat pajamas, and you only do that when you have had a bad day." He observed, his eyes trailing up and down her ensemble.

Marinette looked startled and a little impressed.

"How did you know that?"

"You mentioned it the first time I ever saw you wearing them after I asked if they were in my honor, remember?"

"Oh. I had forgotten that." She smiled softly, clearly touched that he had bothered to remember such a trivial detail. "Well I graduated today so of course I am going to be a little melancholy."

"That still doesn't explain why you've been crying." He whispered, reaching up to lightly tap her red and slightly swollen nose.

Marinette seemed to wilt in front of him, stepping forward to wrap her arms around his waist and bury her face against his chest. Chat immediately returned the embrace, letting his head rest atop her own and running his claws carefully across her upper back in a soothing motion.

"I hate how annoying observant you are sometimes." She muttered.

"Now now, no need to be catty." He teased.

"Really? You think now is the right time for puns?"

"It's always the right time for puns."

"You are such a dork." She sighed, but she squeezed him tighter. "Ok you win. I'm upset and it's stupid and I hate myself for it because it's really stupid."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Do you want me to guess repeatedly until I figure it out?"

"No."

"Do you want me to whine at you incessantly until you tell me just to shut me up?"

"No!" She protested, but he could feel her smiling against him.

"Should I just make up a reason why you are upset so that I can tell you that it's all going to be fine?"

"Yeah ok." She said softly.

"Alright then." He bent down and scooped her up, earning a small squeak and carried her over to the pink lawn chair and settling her down. "Many moons ago, a beautiful princess…"

"Chat what are you doing?"

"I am making up my reason why you are sad."

"You know you don't have to say it out loud." Marinette pouted.  
"Sure I do, now be quiet this is a very important story." Chat scolded, carefully settling down next to her onto the chair.

"Sorry." She drawled. He decided she couldn't be too irritated with him when she leaned back and began to absently play with his hair.

"As I was saying, many moons ago a beautiful princess was struggling to uphold peace and prosperity in her kingdom. Unfortunately she was plagued by an evil fairy, determined to destroy the princess and rule over the land for herself. The evil fairy, let's call her Chloe,"

"Really pulling out all the creative stops today aren't we?"  
"Quiet princess. So the evil fairy Chloe…"

Chat proceeded to ramble on for the next hour, detailing the exciting feud between the brave princess Mari and her rival Chloe. Truth be told he thought the entire tale was fairly well done for being made up on the spot. He had to avoid using too many of their friends and classmates as characters to avoid exposing his identity, sticking instead to people whom she would know he had been in contact with due to the long list of akuma related incidents. Alya was a safe choice given her blogging habits, and Marinette had been delighted when Jagged Stone entered the story as her magical bard companion with his ferocious pet dragon Fang.

"…and so the Princess and the Bard watched on in horror as Lady Alya was whisked away by Chloe's army, the sound of the horses fading into the distance as they desperately struggled against the iron bars of the cage."  
"So what happens next?" Marinette asked eagerly, her fingers still dancing across his scalp. She hadn't stopped fussing with his hair since the beginning of the story. He was fairly sure she had tried unsuccessfully to braid it at one point but had chosen not to comment.

"I don't know." He said with a grin, tilting his head up to look at her innocently.

"What do you mean you don't know? It's your story."

"Yeah but that's the end. You are upset because the evil Chloe ran off with the Lady Alya to suffer a fate worse than death."

"And what is a fate worse than death exactly?"

"She has to take Chloe shoe shopping." He shuddered.

Marinette snorted in laughter and Adrien was pleased to find that one good thing had come from the hours he had spent subjected to that particular torture.

"Well at least I have a good reason to be upset then." Marinette said quietly.

He hummed in response, not wanting to say anything that might spoil the mood.

"Hey Chat?"

"Yeah Princess?"

"Have you ever wanted something so much that you would do anything to have it, only to realize that nothing you can do will ever make it happen?"

His mind swam with images of red and black spots and a teasing smile. "Yeah."

"What is out of the reach of the great Chat Noir?"

"I am pretty sure the entire city of Paris knows the answer to that question." He replied bitterly.

"Oh. Ladybug." She said quietly.

"Actually I was referring to my ongoing battle to have a nationally recognized holiday for pun appreciation."

"Oh really?"  
"Yeah, I submitted a proposal to the mayor and everything, he wouldn't even give me the time of day."

"There is a boy I like. I've pretty much been in love with him forever, and I kept hoping… I just don't think it's ever going to happen and I feel like I wasted all this time…"

"Do you regret it?"

"What?"

"Do you regret being in love with him?"

"No. He's great he just doesn't feel the same way about me."

"Well if you don't regret it than how have you wasted your time? Ladybug isn't about to come swinging onto this balcony to profess her undying love to me but I don't think being in love with her was a waste of time, it simply was how I feel and I don't feel ashamed of that. You shouldn't either. No matter what happens from here on out, even if you never see this guy again don't feel like you have failed by being honest about your feelings."

"I suppose." She said, although she still sounded skeptical.

"And hey for what it's worth you've got me."

"Thanks Kitty." She smiled down at him. "Although you aren't exactly about to grab me up and kiss me either." She grumbled.

Chat chuckled, wondering if she even realized that she had spoken the words aloud.

"I mean if you want me to I am more than happy to oblige Princess."

"What?" She blurted, eyes widening in mortified shock, a charming blush dusting her cheeks.

"I said I would kiss you if you wanted me to." The words came out raspier than he had intended and he could feel his own cheeks flaming beneath his mask.

"You're serious?" She whispered. Chat wasn't sure how she wanted him to respond. Should he play it off as a joke or just go for it?

Honesty usually was the better policy.

"Why wouldn't I be? After all if it was going to be anyone other than my Lady then it would be you."

"You really do like me don't you?" Marinette laughed, a dazzling smile lighting her face like a beacon.

"Well yeah." He muttered embarrassed. "I mean you're nice and you're cute and we get along well. Plus we have a lot in common…"

"Okay. Yes."

"huh?" Chat sat up confused.

"Yes I want you to kiss me." She said coyly.

"Oh! Oh. I guess I should…" He swallowed, awkwardly shifting so that he was directly in front of her. He put his hand on gently on her shoulder and leaned forward so that he was inches away from her lips.

"You sure?" He asked breathlessly.

She nodded, and he could hear her heart racing in anticipation, the rapid beating matching his own.

He leaned forward and hesitantly pressed his lips to hers in a chaste kiss, pulling back after a mere few seconds to see her reaction.

She blinked her eyes open in surprise, her lips pursing in a confused pout. Chat couldn't help but cringe slightly at his own incompetence.

"Sorry." He said, "I wasn't sure what you wanted me to do."

"Was that your first kiss?" She asked a hint of laughter coloring her voice.

"No. Technically it was my third." He muttered.

"Technically?"

"I was sort of brainwashed for the first one."

"I see." She said, her barely suppressed giggles prickling his ego. "Well that was nice."

Nice? NICE?! Why didn't she just stab in in the heart while she was at it?

"So… did you want to try again?" She asked shyly.

"Really?" Chat grinned, then immediately coughed at the high pitched sound of his own voice.

"I mean if you want…"

He didn't even wait for her to finish the sentence before he was leaning forward to capture her lips with his. This time he didn't allow himself to hesitate. She wanted this too.

It didn't take long for instinct to take over and the kiss to deepen. Their lips coaxed and teased, heads tilting to find a better angle.

Chat tentatively threaded his fingers through her hair and she let out a soft moan as his claws grazed against her scalp.

Chat was just beginning to think that he had a handle on this whole kissing thing when Marinette gently teased his lower lip between her teeth and gave it a soft nip.

His mind went pleasantly blank and he let out a soft growl of pleasure. The kisses turned from soft and innocent to hard and hungry. All sense of self-consciousness was drowned out by the desperate need for more, more, more.

Lips and teeth and tongues danced against each other, locked in a battle of dominance, drawing out ragged breaths and wordless cries- from whom he couldn't have said.

It seemed to go on for hours, perhaps days. Adrien felt drugged with pleasure as he drank in the feeling of the girl beside him. His lips trailed down her jawline to the sensitive skin of her neck, licking and biting and sucking. He thrilled at every gasp and moan, his hands running feverishly down her sides and gasping at her hips as her own hands clutched around his neck, fingernails digging so hard into his shoulders that he could feel the pressure through the layers of his suit.

He couldn't have told you how long they stayed locked in the passionate embrace before finally, regretfully, they pulled apart gasping for air, bodies flush and wanting.

"Wow." Chat said stupidly, a dazed smile plastered on his face.

"Yeah." Marinette grinned in return. "That was…"

"Nice?" He teased.

"Better than nice." She said with a small smirk. "Clearly you are a fast learner."

"I try." He smiled.

"So that just happened." She smiled at him, her fingers coming up to tap against her lips. "Oh my god that just happened."

"Yeah." Chat couldn't fight the massive grin from spreading across his whole face. "So I know that this is probably the worst possible timing ever but I need to tell you that I am going to be gone for a few months. And I swear I am not making this up to run off or anything I was leaving before the whole kissing thing. I mean I really wish I wasn't now but…"

Marinette laughed cutting off his rambling with a laugh. "It's ok Chat, I believe you."

"Oh, good."

"Yeah." She giggled again.

"Well I should probably go." Chat said standing up shakily. She followed suit, reaching up to adjust his hair, not that it did much to tame the mussed locks.

"Hey Marinette?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I could, you know, come and visit you? When I get back I mean! Only if you want me to I don't want to just assume…'"

Marinette put a finger to his lips to stop his babbling.

"Yeah, I would like that."

"Great! Ok so, yeah." He knew that he was grinning like an idiot. "So it's getting late I should probably go."

"I suppose so."

"Right. I'm going." He leaned forward and kissed her again. "Cause it's late." Another quick peck. "And you probably want to sleep." Another on her cheek. "Because… well… it's late."

"You said that twice already." She laughed as he continued to pepper soft kisses across her face.

"Sorry." He said unapologetically, snaking his arms around her back and pulling her in for one last lingering kiss.

"Chat!"

"Ok ok I'm going." He lept up onto the railing of her balcony and turned back to look at her, an idiotic grin stretching across his face.

"I'll see you soon." He said confidently.

"Ok Chat."

"I mean it, I'm going to see you again."

"I believe you! Now Go!"

He gave her a final jaunty salute before disappearing off into the night. For the first time in a long time, Adrien wondered if maybe his luck was finally changing.

…

Chat ran gleefully through the streets of Paris, ignoring the dark clouds and the distant rumble of thunder that signaled the oncoming storm.

It felt wonderful to be home.

He couldn't wait to reacquaint himself with his familiar city, but not now. Right now there was only one place he wanted to be.

He sprinted over the rooftops towards the bakery towards the girl who had occupied his thoughts during his time in Italy.

Had she missed him?

He had emailed her faithfully once a week, along with Nino and Alya, but his letters had felt bland and impersonal. He couldn't exactly start waxing poetically at her without coming across as a complete lunatic. After all Marinette had no idea that she had been making out with her longtime friend 4 months ago. Still…

Maybe now they could pick up where they had left off. He could ask her out, spend time with her. Obviously if things went well he would eventually tell her his real identity, but wasn't that what he really wanted? Someone who he didn't have to pretend with? And Marinette liked Adrien well enough, they were friends. Perhaps finding out that he was also Chat Noir would finally break down that strange wall of awkwardness that had always existed between them. After all she was never awkward with Chat.

He heard her before he saw her, his sensitive cat ears twitching at the sound of her laughter.

He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding at his unprecedented good luck. She was home and she was out on her balcony. It was if fate was leading him to her side.

Adrien could imagine Plagg's disgust at his romanticism. The little kwami had banned him from saying Marinette's name a week ago, claiming that he would die of secondhand embarrassment if he had to deal with any more of Adrien's sap.

"No, there is no way, you are lying to me." Marinette said, smiling as she paced her terrace her phone pressed against her cheek. "There is absolutely no way YOU are a dog person."

She laughed again at whatever response she got from the person on the other end of the line. Chat crept along the edge of the roof, landing silently behind her and drinking in the sight of her, clad in shorts and an oversized sweatshirt, her hair piled into a messy bun with a pencil sticking out of it.

Marinette snorted and even with her back turned to him he could feel her rolling her eyes.

"No. I won't believe that until I see it. Uh huh. Oh my God Nick I swear your puns get worse every time I talk to you."

"Well it's good to know that at least one of your friends has a decent sense of humor." Chat couldn't resist teasing.

She whirled around, the hand holding the phone falling limply away from her face as the person on the other end chatted on obliviously.

"Chat?" She breathed.

"Hey Princess." He smiled.

Marinette's eyes went wide, her mouth falling open in clear distress. She didn't say anything, simply stared at him as if she was seeing a ghost.

Adrien felt his gut clench in fear, but he tried to swallow his paranoia.

"I'm back." He said, trying to keep the smile on his face and giving her a small wave.

"No, you can't be here, you can't." She murmured. The phone in her hand dropped to the ground with a soft clank.

"Marinette?" He asked hesitantly reaching out for her only to have her shy away in horror.

"I made a terrible mistake."


	5. Chapter 5

_One of the biggest questions that is on the mind of every Parisian- who is Papillion? What are his motivations and goals? Is he just some crazy megalomaniac bent on world domination hiding in some abandoned lair? Would you recognize him if he passed you on the street? Or would he just be another random face in the crowd? Perhaps he is someone with a life and a family of his own._

 _-Alya Cesaire, The Ladyblog_

"Mari?"

"Uuuuuggggg" Marinette groaned as she felt someone gently shaking her shoulder.

"Marinette. Time to wake up hun." Alya said gently.

"I don't wanna." Marinette whined, burrowing deeper into the couch and clutching the blanket tighter around her.

"You also don't want to be passed out in the living room while random strangers are bringing in Adrien's furniture." Alya countered.

Adrien's furniture? Why would anyone be…

She bolted upright looking around the room in panic and almost knocking Alya off the edge of the couch. Adrien! Adrien was living here now. Adrien was moving into their spare bedroom. They had stayed up last night drinking and…

"EEP!" Marinette squealed as the events of last night came rushing back to her in a blur. The scarf, the confession, the kissing. Lots and LOTS of kissing.

Oh dear lord she wasn't wearing a shirt.

Marinette scrambled around the couch grabbing a discarded tee shirt from the floor and hastily throwing it on.

Of course it turned out to be Adrien's.

"So, do you have something you would like to tell me?" Alya asked in a deceptively casual tone.

Where is Adrien?" Marinette asked, ignoring her friends pointed look and trying desperately to control her pounding heartbeat.

"He got up about 10 minutes ago. He stared at you for about 5 minutes before covering you with the blanket and then going to the shower."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because I was spying on you both from the kitchen obviously." Alya said with a grin, nudging her flustered roommate in the shoulder. "I take it that someone had a good night?"

"Alya!"

"Well it's not every day you engage in heated make out sessions with your enduring childhood crush, I need details."

"We can't be talking about this out here! What if Adrien comes back out!" She hissed.

"With the amount of hair and skin care products I had to help him pick up yesterday I am confident that he will be in there at LEAST an hour. Maybe two depending on if he cares about covering all those hickeys you left on the poor guy."

"Oh my God."

"So are you guys finally a couple now? Because Nino is refusing to pay up until we have 100% confirmation that you are in fact legitimately dating."

"Is this about that 'who is the better wingman' argument you two have been having?"

"Hey if I helped you guys finally hook up by getting Adrien, smashed I consider that a clear wingman of the year. Don't glare at me, do you have any idea how hard it is for Nino and I to showcase our wingmanning talents with the two of you for best friends?"

Marinette simply continued to glare at her friend.

"So are you guys a thing?" Alya cajoled.

"No. We haven't exactly talked about what happened, it was complicated."

"Damn. I was really hoping for that money. Looks like another day of ramen for me. Oh well. More importantly- how was it finally landing the guy you have been drooling over since I've met you?"

"It was fantastic." Marinette admitted, unable to stop the beatific smile that spread over her face.

"Yay! This is so exciting!" Alya squealed, clapping the tips of her fingers together. "So now that you are in a good mood I need you to promise not to kill me."

Marinette felt a knot of dread twisting in her stomach.  
"What did you do this time?"

"To be fair- not everything I am going to show you is my fault." Alya flushed guiltily. "And in my defense I only posted it to my friends group NOT to my public page, but then Rose decided to respost and of course she didn't think to make it private because it's Rose, and then Ali, who clearly has too much free time for a world famous political philanthropist, saw her post and decided to tag Adrien because THEY'RE friends apparently and…" She took a deep breath. "It doesn't matter, it was stupid and I am sorry and please don't hate me."

"What did you do?" Marinette repeated again, her eyes narrowed into tiny slits.

Alya cautiously held out the tablet she had been holding. "Here's the original post." She said.

Marinette stifled a scream as she looked down at the image on the screen, torn between wanting to throw herself out the nearest window in mortification and wanting to run to the nearest printer to acquire a poster sized version for her wall.

She and Adrien were wrapped tightly around each other, his head buried into the crook of her shoulder a peaceful expression on his face. Between the blanket that had fallen on top of them and the angle of the shot Marinette's modesty was safely intact, not that anyone would be looking at her with gorgeous half naked Adrien on display. And even though the pose was innocent enough and they were clearly mostly clothed there was no mistaking exactly what had been going on thanks to the obvious bruising clearly visible on Adrien's shoulders and neck.

"Adrien is going to kill me." Marinette moaned.

"Given the state I found you in this morning I am pretty sure there is only one kind of death he wants to give you."

"This is not the time for sex jokes!"

"Says the girl covered in hickeys wearing her not boyfriend's shirt."

"Alya…"

"You're right, not the time for jokes. I am the bad guy here." Alya retracted, taking back the tablet and clicking to a new page. "So like I said, Rose reposted, Ali tagged and then HE reposted which is how we get to this." Alya handed back the tablet.

This time the photo was accompanied by a text post.

 _This is clearly a fake and needs to be retracted immediately. There is no way Adrien would be slumming it with the likes of Marinette Dupain-Cheng. That conniving little skank and her wannabe reporter bitch friend must have doctored it up for attention. She has always had it out for poor Adrikins and maybe is hoping that she can trick him into finally liking her. Not that it would work._

"Oh my God is that Chloe's account?"

"Yeah. She follows Ali."

"There are 846 THOUSAND comments!"

"Yeah, Chloe is part of the official Adrien Agreste fanclub and so it got shared on their site too. Hence the comments."

"Oh crap."

"If it helps from what I have read so far more people are interested in talking about Adrien's lack of shirt than in you."

"Maybe everyone believes Chloe and thinks that it's a fake or an ad shot or something?"

Alya gave her a sympathetic grimace and flipped over to a new screen on the tablet. "And that takes us to our next page."

Marinette warily looked at the screen and was surprised to see that she was not looking at a person social media page, but at a popular celebrity gossip site.

"Alya what is…"

"Just scroll down."

Marinette did as she was told and it didn't take long to find the article in question.

 _Has Prince Charming finally found his Cinderella?_

 _Is love finally in the air for Paris' darling Adrien Agreste? The popular model and consummate bachelor was spotted yesterday out shopping with friends, one of whom has now been confirmed to be his new, and perhaps secret, girlfriend. The lady in question- one Marinette Dupain-Cheng- was seen in the company of Adrien for the entire day, the pair even retiring for the night at her Paris abode. It's clear to see the affection between this unexpected pair._

 _The last few days have hinted towards signs of trouble in the Agreste household, with Adrien having been conspicuously absent from the most recent 'Gabriel' press conference and rumors of an extended leave of absence from his position as lead model for the soon to be revealed spring line. Could it be that father and son do not see eye to eye on this new relationship?_

 _Marinette, a former classmate and longtime friend of Adrien's is a currently attending university studying in fashion design, and has received some notoriety for her work as a fledgling designer as the winner of a few local competitions, including last years 'Gabriel' amateur formalwear charity contest, as well as doing several commissions for Rock and Roll sensation Jagged Stone._

 _So what is the story behind this blossoming liaison? Is it a classic tale of friends to lovers? Or perhaps this Romeo and Juliet have been hiding a lingering childhood romance from the public eye. Whatever the case dear readers, be sure to check in with us for all the hottest new celebrity gossip._

 _-Teresa Champlain._

The article was accompanied by a large photo of her and Adrien, laughing together as they had modeled for Alya at the mall.

Marinette's heart gave a small tug as stared at the photo. They really did look like a happy couple, and in spite of her growing horror at the situation she couldn't deny the happy thrill at the idea that at least one member of the press seemed to think that they made a good pair.

"I don't think people are going to be buying the idea that the photo is a fake with this making the rounds as well." Alya said, pulling Marinette away from her happy fantasies and back to the much more complicated reality of the situation.

"What do they mean, confirmation that I am his girlfriend?" Marinette asked, reading through the article again.

"It's a gossip column Mari, they aren't exactly known for their journalistic integrity." Alya said haughtily. "Plenty of paparazzi just make up information that they think will help the story sell. Remember that time last year when they did the article claiming that Mayor Bourgeois was Papillion?"

Marinette smiled at the memory. Everyone had enjoyed that particular bit of drama.

"What I want to know." Alya said "Is how they followed us without being noticed! I never thought I would be fooled by the stalker squad."

"Adrien does say that they are good at what they do." Marinette replied. "It's why he tries to keep such a low profile. The best way to avoid them is by being boring enough that they leave you alone."

Marinette sighed and buried her head in her hands.

"Adrien is going to despise me. I can't believe this is happening. He HATES being in the tabloids and now they think we are having some sort of torrid affair!"

"Well to be fair you have been trying to have a torrid affair with the boy for more than 5 years now"

"Alya be serious, this is a big deal!"

"Well maybe it doesn't have to be a big deal. I mean he clearly likes you well enough to let you mark him up like a chew toy. Maybe this is the start of an actual relationship for you two."

"Alya he was drunk and upset and I think he just needed to feel close to _someone_ , not necessarily close to me. I mean he never…"

Both girls instantly fell silent at the sound of Adrien's door opening.

He was dressed casually in dark wash jeans and a novelty tee shirt, his still damp hair pushed back away from his face and a towel slung around his neck.

Marinette's throat went dry as she caught sight of the red and purple bruises peeking out over the edge of his shirt. Apparently he hadn't bothered to cover them after all.

"Hey guys." He said quietly, his eyes locking on to hers questioningly.

Marinette gave him a small wave, not trusting herself to speak. Alya merely nodded, looking back and forth between the two of them with a Cheshire grin.

"Hey Adrien, how did you sleep?" She asked sweetly.

Before he could reply a loud brisk knock sounded against the door.

"And thus begins the next round of deliveries." Alya groaned, "Honestly I don't know how you guys slept through the constant knocking. I've been answer the door all morning. On the bright side it's going to be fun opening all the boxes of new stuff. It will be like apartment Christmas."

There was another knock.

"I'll get it." Adrien said, walking over to the door and pulling it open.

"Good morning Adrien."

Marinette jumped as the front door slammed violently shut.

"Adrien what's wrong?" Alya said, getting up off the couch and hurrying over to her wide eyed friend who was now flatted against the doorway like a barricade, Marinette trailing hot on her heels.

"It's Nathalie." He hissed.

"Adrien we need to discuss a few things as regards your current situation and that will be much easier to accomplish if you open the door." The muffled voice carried in from the hallway.

"What do I do?" Adrien shot the girls a panicked look.

For the first time all morning Marinette felt her nerves disappear. Adrien was distressed and needed her help, now was not the time to be falling apart over stupid internet gossip.

"You can do whatever you want to do, just remember you are completely safe here and no one can make you leave if you don't want to." Marinette said soothingly. "If you want to talk to Nathalie that's fine. If you want Alya and I to tell her to leave we can do that too. Just do whatever is going to make you comfortable." She gave him a reassuring smile, daring to place a comforting hand on his arm.

Adrien's tension relaxed under her touch.

"Right. Ok. Thanks." He smiled at her with a look of intense gratitude.

It was a familiar expression, but not one that she had ever really associated with cool, composed Adrien. It was the same look of hopeful incredulity that Chat used to get in the early years of their partnership when she would tell him that she couldn't succeed without him, or when she confessed that he was one of her closest friends.

It was a look that always made her question what sort of life her partner had outside of their heroic adventures that he seemed so be so stunned that anyone would place any value on his existence.

It was a look that had gotten her to agree to weekly patrols around the city, (even though they served no point in the larger battle against Papillion who had no predictable schedule of attacks and left no clues as to his daily whereabouts), simply so they could spend time together as friends, talking and wandering about the roofs of Paris.

It was a look that never failed to break her heart.

Marinette desperately wanted to drag Adrien back over to the couch, wrap him in blankets and stuff him full of sweets. Maybe through on some terrible Rom-com that he would more than likely adore. Maybe if she tried hard enough she could erase that expression from his repertoire.

Then when he was good at distracted she could hunt down Gabriel Agreste and punch him in the face as hard as she possibly could.

But as it was, it was not her place to do any of those things. She settled for awkwardly patting his arm as he took a deep steadying breath.

Adrien straightened, turning around to open the door.

"What do you want Nathalie?" He asked in the resigned tone he usually reserved for Chloe.

"I understand that you have taken up residence in this domicile as of yesterday morning, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"There have also been a large number of purchases made from the joint account in your name, I need to verify if they are legitimate or if I need to put in a report with the police."

"No I went shopping."

Nathalie nodded, typing rapidly into her tablet. "Very good."

Adrien shifted uncomfortably. "Are we done then?"

"I've cleared your schedule for this week in light of the current circumstances, however we will need to rescheduled a few of the joint projects as soon as possible."

"Current circumstances?" Adrien gaped.

"Your father thought it wise to give you some time to adjust before attempting any photoshoots. You have never performed at your best when you are emotionally distressed and this recent development has clearly left you out of sorts."

Both Alya and Marinette took an instinctive step back as Adrien's entire countenance darked, his body stiffening like he was holding himself back from lashing out at the impassive figure in front of him.

"You know don't you? Honestly I am not even surprised anymore this whole situation is so fucked up."

"Adrien I doubt your father would approve of such language."

"I really couldn't give a damn about what my father approves of right now."

"I see." Natalie stated, typing another round of rapid texts on her tablet. "Well now that we have covered the basics your father is waiting for you in the car and would like to speak to you."

The door slammed shut again.

Alya and Marinette watched in silence as Adrien stomped over to the couch and sat down heavily, muttering under his breath.

Slowly the two girls tiptoed over to him and sat down lightly on either side.

"I don't want to talk about it." He said through gritted teeth. They nodded mutely, not daring to say anything that would set him off.

A soft muffled ringing broke the silence, and all three occupants looked around in confusion.

"I think it's coming from over there." Alya pointed to one of the large piles of boxes and packages that had arrived for Adrien. "Mari did you lose your phone again?"

"No, that's not mine. All my ringtones are set to music." Marinette said, getting off the couch and following the sound to its source.

After a few seconds of digging she lifted the small package that was the source of the ringing. Feeling like she was carrying a bomb she gingerly returned to the couch and handed it to Adrien.

"I think it's for you." She said.

Wordlessly, Adrien carefully unwrapped the package and pulled out a small, sleek cellphone. He stared at the offending object for a few tense seconds before standing, walking back to the door, opening it, and hurling the thing out into the hallway.

He glared at Natalie, who was still standing nonchalantly typing into her tablet, before closing the door and leaning against it heavily.

Marinette and Alya exchanged worried looks.

A second round of ringing sounded out from the same pile as before.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Adrien growled, pacing around the living room and launching into a tirade about his father that far outstripped anything that Nino had ever uttered.

Marinette retrieved a second identically packaged box and cautiously took it over to Adrien. He didn't even bother to unwrap it this time before tossing the entire package into the hall.

It took about 30 seconds for the next round of ringing to begin.

"That conniving son of a…" Adrien growled. Stomping over and rifling through the pile for the 3rd phone. He hastily ripped apart the packaging and accepted the call.

"What do you want?" He spat.

"Adrien stop this childish behavior and come downstairs immediately." Gabriel Agreste's imperious voice rang out clearly through the apartment. "We have important matters to discuss and I refuse to indulge this pettiness."

"That's hilarious coming from you." Adrien replied sarcastically pacing around the living room, "Especially since you seem to think I care about what you want. Don't you have children to be terrorizing?"

"It seems that's what I am doing already given that you are conducting yourself like a five year old."

Adrien glowered and another phone was unceremoniously tossed into the hallway.

Alya had already preemptively began sorting through the pile of boxes in search of more phones, unwrapping them carefully and lining them up along the coffee table. Sure enough another bout of ringing began.

Marinette watched in morbid fascination as Adrien grabbed up the next offending object and answered the call.

"As I was saying," Gabriel continued before Adrien had even had a chance to speak, "We have important matters to discuss so stop sulking and come downstairs."

"No."

"Adrien."

"I saw more than enough of you two days ago." Adrien seethed with more venom than Marinette would have believed her mild mannered crush capable of until this moment.

"You have no one but yourself to blame for that. If you are going to run off like a spoiled child I will use whatever means are at my disposal to ascertain your whereabouts and guarantee your safety."

Adrien let out a loud mirthless laugh that chilled Marinette to the bone.

"I am not having this conversation with you. I don't know why I am having _any_ conversation with you. There is nothing that you can say that I could possibly care about."

"This is not the time for your dramatics Adrien. Regardless of whatever complications there may be between us at the moment there is no excuse for you to be shacking up with some childhood paramour." Gabriel stated with the same meticulous calm he had demonstrated throughout the conversation.

Marinette and Alya both caught their breath, looking at each other in guilty terror.

"What?" Adrien asked, clearly taken aback.

"Don't play dumb. It's already all over the gossip columns, and I am not about to let you jeopardize your career in a fit of pique by moving in with your girlfriend."

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Adrien said, too caught up in his anger at his father to notice his roommates crimson faces.

"So are you trying to tell me that you have not been cavorting all over town with a Miss Dupain-Cheng, whose place of residence you are currently sequestered in?"

"But Marinette's not…" Adrien muttered softly before trailing off, a hurricane of emotions playing across his face before his eyes lit up with a terrifying gleam.

"Yes, I moved in with my girlfriend, and the press can say whatever they want about _it_ and about _me_."

Marinette was pretty sure her heart had stopped beating. Had Adrien just said…

"I absolutely forbid it." His father announced, his cadence still unshakably measured given the unbelievable tension of everyone else in the room. "I will not stand for you damaging your reputation by acting like some lovesick hooligan."

"Too bad. You don't get to say what I do with my life anymore." Adrien practically shouted into the phone, a terrifying grin of defiance splayed across his features.

"You are not to stay another night in that bohemian hostel with that woman."

"I will stay here as long as I damn well please and there is not a thing you can do to stop me!"

"Adrien I am your father and I am looking out for your best interests. Now cease this foolishness or…"

"Or you'll what? Cut me off? Send one of your little minions after me? I don't care what you do, do you hear me? I DON'T CARE!"

"Adrien you are my son I am not just going to disappear from your life."

"Really? Could have fooled me these last eight years."

There were several moments of awkward silence following Adrien's outburst. Apparently even the great Gabriel Agreste had been perturbed by the atypical display of anger from his mild mannered son.

"Perhaps it is still too soon to be discussing these matters." Gabriel said at last. "I will be in touch once you have had a chance to come to your senses. In the meantime I'll have Nathalie arrange…"

"Oh no, absolutely not. I am NOT about to just fall back in line with you and your… your Henchman!" Adrien cried. "So you can stay the hell away from me."

"Adrien I am not about to simply…"

Adrien ended the call and once again opened the door and lobbed it at an unsurprised Nathalie. At least his throws seemed to have gotten less violent.

Adrien groaned as another phone chimed from the coffee table. Alya picked it up and tossed it to Adrien who caught it deftly, scowling as he pressed the accept button on the screen.

"Yes, I'll keep the damn phone!" Adrien shouted into the newest cell, immediately ending the call and throwing himself backwards onto the couch.

In the tense silence of the apartment Marinette could just hear the sound of footsteps fading down the hallway.


	6. Chapter 6

_One of the greatest things about Paris is that you never know who you will meet. For centuries our city has been at the center of art and culture and the rich, famous and talented long flocked to her streets in search of inspiration. On any given night stars and celebrities can be found patronizing the best and brightest of Parisian night life._

 _~ Claire Bordolaire C'est la TV_

"Would it be terrible to ask if we can keep some of the extra phones?" Alya whispered to Marinette eyeing the half dozen devices still lined up along the coffee table.

"Cause they are way nicer than ours."

A half an hour had gone by since Natalie's unexpected visit and Adrien still hadn't moved from his spot sprawled on the couch. Marinette and Alya had distracted themselves by organizing the piles of packages, several more of which had arrived by currier.

"Alya I think we have bigger problems than cell phones to be worried about." Marinette replied.

"Yeah, like how we are going to get Adrien off the couch so that we can get rid of it before the new one arrives in an hour." Alya quipped looking down at her watch.

"Are you serious…" Marinette began loudly, before catching herself and lowering her voice to a barely audible level "are you seriously more concerned about a couch than about what is going on right now?"

Alya glared at her friend. "No Marinette," She replied at full volume. "I am not in fact a terrible person but you know what? Right now there is a limited amount that I can do. I can't take back the fact that I screwed up this morning, I can't change the fact that Chloe is a malicious gossip, and I can't make Gabriel Agreste NOT an unmitigated ass. You know what I can do? I can unpack stuff and I can make jokes and I can try to pretend like all of this isn't terrifyingly tragic. So if the only thing that I CAN do is move a fucking couch that I damn well am going to do it! So don't you dare act like…"

Alya's rant dissolved into a startled gasp as she was all but tackled from behind by Adrien in a smothering bear hug.

"Adrien! Jeez, don't do that you scared me to death." Alya laughed nervously.

"Sorry." He said unapologetically, his head buried against her shoulder as one arm began blindly flailing out until he grabbed on to Marinette's shoulder and pulled her in to the embrace as well.

"You guys are the best." He said trembling. "I mean it, I don't know what I would do if you weren't here and I promise I will make this up to you. I am so sorry for dragging you into this."

"Oh sweety, you didn't drag us into anything." Alya said gently, attempting to return his hug from her disadvantaged angle. "The only person who should feel bad about anything is your psychopath Dad. Seriously I own Nino an apology. He always said your old man was a real piece of work and I just sort of assumed he was exaggerating because he was still bitter over the whole Gabriel causing him to get akumatized thing."

Adrien let out a strangled laugh. "Yeah that was definitely father's fault."

"Although I don't know why he even is so upset by the whole thing. I mean at least 2/3rds of our school was akumatized, so it's not like it reflects badly on him."

Adrien let out a muffled whimper.

"I think he is just mad because his villain look was so ridiculous." Marinette suggested hoping to lighten the mood a little. All three friends exchange a laugh at that.

"I am totally telling him you said that." Alya teased, although Marinette could see tears in her friend's eyes as she pulled Marinette in closer to their strange group cuddle. She wrapped her arms around her best friend, trying to convey without words that no matter how ridiculous Alya could be she still wouldn't trade her for the world.

"Seriously though." Adrien said still clinging to his friends like a life raft, "If there is anything I can do for either of you just say the word and it's yours."

"Well in that case you can start by letting me go Agreste, you are crushing my ribs." Alya moaned theatrically.

"Sorry!" He immediately tried to fling himself back but Alya and Marinette latched onto his wrists to pull him back into another hug. Unfortunately for everyone involved Adrien had a lot more momentum than either girl had expected and the entire trio went crashing to the floor in a laughing, tearful puddled.

…

"Well that should be the end of the big stuff." Adrien smiled as he entered his new bedroom where both of his roommates were laying facedown against his brand new king sized mattress.

"I can't believe we had to drag this in here ourselves." Marinette groaned, her words somewhat muffled. "If you pay for delivery aren't they supposed to set it up FOR you?"

"Standard delivery only gets it to your door. If you want things set up for you, you have to upgrade to premium delivery." Alya parroted in a flat monotone. "Why didn't you shell out the extra cash Agreste?"

"I didn't know. It's not like I've ever had to do this myself before," Adrien replied cheerfully bouncing onto the bed with enough force to rock the girls from their comfortable positions. "So what do we do next?"

Marinette turned her head to glare at the somehow not exhausted boy. Apparently the novelty of trying to fit large, heavy furniture- because of course Adrien couldn't have gotten the cheap lightweight selections that most university students opt for- through the narrow door had not worn off for him.

"We sit here and we recover." She groaned. "Or did you miss the part where you guys ran me into the wall with the couch."

"Sorry about that." Adrien said abashed.

She was about to shoot back another retort when she felt a pair of large strong hands massaging her shoulder blades. She melted, letting out a soft moan of delight.

"What is she… wait is Mari getting a back rub? Because I did just as much work as she did." Alya pouted.

Marinette whimpered pitifully when the glorious pressure against her back disappeared. A moment later Alya let out a soft sigh of contentment.

"God bless Lars for teaching you the mystical secrets of Swedish massage." Alya hummed.

Lars, who had been Adrien's personal trainer back in high school, was still fondly remembered by the rest of the group for his wonderful contribution to their improved lifestyle. Adrien had complained often of stiff muscles and sore backs from lengthy photoshoots and begged to learn massage himself instead of waiting anxiously for his monthly appointment. It wasn't a perfect solution but it had at least helped, and his trio of friends had been more than happy to act as guanine pigs for him to practice on.

"It's hardly a mystical secret when you can buy books on the subject." Adrien joked. Patting Alya on the back and standing up.

"No! You are not done, I can feel knots along my spine." Alya whined.

"I can give you both backrubs AFTER everything is unpacked." Adrien said impishly.

"That's just bribery." Marinette said, but she pulled herself up off the bed and began pulling out the packages of bedding.

"It's also effective." Adrien grinned at her and playfully threw one of the uncased pillows at her head.

Marinette could feel the warmth of a blush crawling up her neck and into her cheeks. It should be illegal for anyone to look that attractive.

"Don't start pillow wars that you aren't prepared to finish pretty boy." She replied, hoping that her smile was more confidant and challenging than silly and love-struck. "You would end up laid out in this nice new bed for a week."

"Oh is that a challenge?" Adrien's smile morphed into an arrogant smirk.

"I wouldn't if I were you," Alya warned."For such a tiny thing she is pretty terrifying when it comes to pillow fights. Remember paintball two years ago?"

"Yeah."

"Think that but ten times worse."

"Marinette you savage!" Adrien gasped in fake outrage, looking her up and down with feigned horror.

"I have hidden talents." She smiled back, relieved to see a genuine happy gleam in his eyes.

"I see. _Though she be but little she is fierce._ "

"Are you seriously quoting Shakespeare during a conversation about pillow fights?" Alya groaned. "Marinette beat him up. I can't live with this kind of pretentiousness."

 _"O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-ey'd monster, which doth mock The meat it feeds on."_

"Oh God you are going to do this all day aren't you?" Alya sighed. "Mari, please for the love of God knock him unconscious so we don't have to endure an entire day of Shakespeare in the park."

"Alya I am not going to beat up Adrien." Marinette scowled.

Adrien laughed and stuck his tongue out at the defeated journalist. _"Then with the losers let it sympathize, for nothing can seem foul to those that win."_

"Adrien, no more Shakespeare if you want us to help you finish setting up all your stuff."

"Aww, so you mean I am _Bard_ from any more quotes?"

"I am going to pretend you didn't say that."

"But Marinette…"

"No." The pillow smacked him in the face.

"E tu Mari?" Adrien pouted.

"Looks like your outnumbered now Agreste." Alya said smugly.

"At least there are people around to outnumber me." He muttered under his breath, then flushed darkly when he realized that both of his roommates had stopped what they were doing to gaze at him in sympathy. "I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that."

"Yes you did." Marinette said fiercely. "It's ok to admit that you weren't happy and that you deserved better. You don't have to shut us out."

"I'm not trying to, it just habit I guess. Emotional outbursts are ironically frown upon in my house."

"Well it's a stupid habit that you need to break." Alya stated, throwing another pillow into its case and tossing it over to Marinette. "You need to get out more. Have a real life, make some mistakes without worrying that your father will die of a coronary, maybe do all the stupid things that he never wanted you to do. Throw parties, go skydiving, use the salad fork for your entrée."

"Ha ha very funny."

"I'm serious! It might be good for you to lash out at your father, and it's not like the world would end because you went to a few parties."

Adrien paused considering Alya's words. "I suppose it could be fun. And it would be nice to make him furious at me for a change. But it's one thing to yell at him over the phone and quite another to actually get away with anything he doesn't approve of."

She smiled softly at him ruffling his hair affectionately. "You have every right to do what you want with your life Adrien. You're young, attractive, and loaded. You should be off having the time of your life not driving yourself into the ground trying to impress someone who doesn't deserve your attention."

"You sound like Nino."

"There is a reason I have put up with him all these years. He is on occasion a very wise man," Alya stated. "For once in your life why don't you focus on what is going to make YOU happy, to hell with what you're dad wants."

"I can just imagine the look on his face. Father used to constantly complain about young celebrities running around making fools of themselves in front of the press. He would be livid having to constantly monitor if I was risking the integrity of the company running around Paris with…" Adrien trailed off his face going pale as he turned and stared wide eyed at Marinette.

"I told my father we were dating." He said as if this fact had only just now registered. With everything that had happened it might even be the truth. "But… why did he think that we were dating? How did he even know I was here?"

"There was an article in the tabloids this morning. They had pictures of us from the mall." Marinette confessed. "I guess they thought that we were together."

"OH God… Marinette… I never wanted…" Again the conversation was interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

"Damn. I'll just… I'll be right back." Adrien said, hurrying out of the room to accept another delivery.

Marinette felt her heart breaking. She had tried to tell herself not to get too hopeful after the whole drunken makeout fiasco last night, but part of her had hoped that maybe, just maybe, Adrien had kissed her because he wanted to be with her and not because he was an emotional wreck. If his mortified reaction to learning that the press was writing stories about them together was any indication those dreams were now thoroughly dashed.

"He is so embarrassed, how are we going to fix this." Marinette wailed softly, staring forlorn at the pillow in her hands.

"What if you don't fix it? What if you just play along, pretend to be a couple." Alya said.

"What would that accomplish?"

"Think about it! He gets to annoy his devil spawn of a father and you get a chance to show Adrien what an amazing girlfriend you would be! You would be so good for him Mari, we all see it, and I KNOW that it's what you want. You've never been able to work up the nerve to just tell Adrien how you feel so maybe this is happening for a reason. This could be your lucky break!" Alya whirled away from her and returned to innocently arranging the newly acquired bedding as Adrien returned to the room with a small mini-fridge.

"Sorry about that. Marinette I…what I was trying to…" Adrien stammered, his face turning an impressively bright shade of red, "I don't know what possessed me to tell my father that we are together, I mean I know that you don't… that WE aren't… God it was so stupid and I was just so angry and he was so dead set against it and… but I shouldn't have dragged you into my mess. I'll fix it, I promise."

Alya's words from moments ago pounded in her ears. She stared at Adrien, gorgeous, sweet, and desperate to please Adrien, who she had wanted for so long. He looked truly remorseful, as if saying that they were dating was somehow insulting to her. Was she really willing to let this turn into another blissful memory that would never be repeated? Hadn't she already ruined one shot at a great relationship by letting her mistakes and her embarrassment drive away someone she might have been able to truly love? No, not again. She wasn't going to let this chance slip away from her. Before she could change her mind Marinette blurted, "Or we could just pretend."

"What?"

"What?" Adrien and Alya both asked, one face twisted in confusion the other lit up with an unholy gleam.

"Well we could just pretend that we are dating. Just in public, in front of the cameras and stuff! To, you know, annoy your dad."

"You would be ok with that? I mean you would want to?" Adrien ask.

"Well yeah, I mean that's what friends are for right?" Marinette attempted a smile, hoping that she wasn't too transparent. As if she had ever wanted to be 'just friends' with Adrien.

"Right, friends." His ears turned pink and he turned his gaze to the floor.

"I mean if you don't want to…" Marinette tried to backtrack, wondering if she had just ruined all chances with Adrien forever by suggesting this stupid plan. Why, WHY did she ever listen to Alya?

"No! I do! I mean…" He coughed, "yeah. Let's go for it."

"Ok." Marinette let out a breath.

"Ok." Adrien gave her a shy smile.

"OK" Alya chimed in at last looking back and forth between them like she was following a pingpong match. "So just to be clear, because I can tell you right now Nino is going to have a LOT of questions, the plan is to, what, fake date Marinette and run around Paris running up daddy's credit card while getting as much publicity as possible?"

"I guess? I haven't really thought it through that far yet. I've pretty much spent the last 20 years trying to keep my father from being disappointed in me so I don't have a lot of experience with the whole rebellious teenager thing."

"Oh honey." Alya grinned, "if that's what you are going for then we are going to have some FUN."

…

"Tikki, I don't think I can do this." Marinette moaned as she dug through her closet for an outfit to wear on tonight's 'adventure.'

Alya had taken over all the planning, simply telling Adrien and Marinette to be ready to go out at 8 and to wear something appropriate for dancing.

When Adrien had asked what kind of dancing, she had whisked him off into his room, phone in hand and Nino on speed dial. Marinette hadn't seen hide nor hair of them since.

It was now quarter past seven and Marinette figured she should probably get to work.

"Oh Marinette I don't know why you get so worked up over these things," Tikki said kindly. "I have a feeling that everything is going to work out just fine in the end."

"Easy for you to say," Marinette grumbled, pointedly ignoring her kwami's tittering giggles. Tikki had been particularly cheery these past few days and as much as Marinette loved her small companion the incessant peppiness was wearing on her frazzled nerves.

"What sort of an outfit does one wear to go out with their fake celebrity boyfriend?"

"Probably the same sort of outfit one wears on a regular date," Tikki teased.

"It's not a date. We are getting a group together to go to a club." Marinette wasn't sure if she could have survived jumping right into one on one interaction with her new 'boyfriend' so had been relieved when Alya had pitched the idea of a night on the town with friends for their first outing.

"But you want it to be a date," Tikki countered knowingly.

"No I want HIM to want it to be a date," Marinette replied stubbornly. She pulled out a pretty pink and yellow dress and held it up in front of the mirror. No, this would make her look too young. She pulled out a pale blue Babydoll instead."Besides right now I am more concerned with trying to find something that the press won't crucify me for wearing. They are going to expect Adrien's girlfriend to be glamourous and sophisticated. Not to mention that Gabriel Agreste is going to be judging every stitch of clothing I wear while I am out with his son and I am not about to give him anything to criticize."

She held up the dress and twisted in front of the mirror. "What do you think Tikki is this classy enough?"

"I think you are overthinking this. You are very pretty and have great fashion sense, don't worry so much about how you think people expect you to look and wear something that makes you feel comfortable."

She tossed the blue dress on the pile of other rejected choices and pulled out a floor length Lavender gown. "Too much?"

Before Tikki could give any input on this newest selection Marinette heard the vibrating of her phone. She glanced down at the text message on her screen.

 **Alya: Put back whatever pastel monstrosity you are thinking of wearing and put on something sexy.**

Tikki, who was reading over her shoulder, laughed.

Marinette sighed and returned to her closet rifling through her more conservative cocktail dresses for a simple black dress that she often used for interviews. It was sleek and sexy while still being professional and polished. Attractive without being too forward.

Her phone buzzed again.

 **Alya: Now put back that black A-line and get creative. Remember you are trying to make an impression.**

"She does have a point you know," Tikki said sagely.

"Thanks a lot Tikki," Marinette glowered, tossing the cocktail dress onto the pile and staring forlornly at her closest.

"I am serious Marinette, stop fretting about the world and think about what you want to happen."

"I don't want to make a fool out of myself!"

"And here I thought what mattered was helping Adrien survive his impending nervous breakdown, or so you have been saying to be nonstop for the past three days." Tikki said dryly, giving Marinette an arch look of disapproval that could rival her mothers.

"I know but…"

"No buts. Besides I thought you said the whole reason you are doing this is because you wanted to get him to like you."

"I do!"

"And how are you going to do that if you are too busy worrying about other people's opinions?"

Marinette deflated. "You are right Tikki. I'm being an idiot."

The Kwami gave her a reassuring nuzzle before flying over and examining the closest for herself. "Besides you shouldn't worry about what the press thinks. Now, pretend that none of this happening and you are just going out on a regular night with your friends, one of whom is your long time crush who you finally got to kiss you. In that scenario, what sort of outfit would you wear to impress Adrien?"

Marinette smiled, "You know Tikki I think I might have just the thing."


	7. Chapter 7

When Marinette stepped out of her room 30 minutes later her ears were assaulted by the sound of unabashed squealing.

"Marinette! It's so good to see you! When Alya texted about the club I dropped everything and rushed back to town. I am totally crashing here tonight by the way, no WAY will I be sober enough to drive back."

"It's good to see you too Aurora." Marinette choked as her friend glomped onto her with another high pitched squeal.

"I can't believe you finally landed Adrien!" The blonde gushed. "I am amazed that you aren't completely freaking out right now."

"Well, it's still pretty new, I don't want to jinx it you know?" Marinette replied sheepishly. They had already decided earlier that it would be easier to tell as few people as possible as to the real natured of Marinette's and Adrien's new relationship.

"Still, it's so exciting!" Aurora giggled, "and I don't know about you but I am SOOO ready for a night on the town."

"Hey, let's not forget what the whole point of this little exercise is," Alya reprimanded. "Our job is to…"

"I know I know, we are there to help the poor helpless supermodel get as much press as possible to annoy dear old dad, I got the memo." Aurora waived her off. "Besides I already did my part thank you very much. I called every contact I knew to warn them about tonight's festivities. I even called Claire."

"You didn't!" Alya gasped.

"Totally did. Acted like I had called the wrong number and then _accidently_ let it slip that I was going out tonight with Adrien Agreste and his new girlfriend during the awkward pleasantries."

"Yes! That's perfect!"

"Who is Claire?" Marinette asked confused by the strange back and forth between her friends.

"Remember that bitchy girl I used to constantly complain about from work who ran the online gossip page for my old studio?" Aurora smiled.

"Oh the one who kinda looks like an angry poodle?"

"That's the one. She is also a Gold Member of the Adrien Agreste fan club so she is guaranteed to tell every paparazzi and blogger she knows about this little outing."

"What exactly is a gold… you know what, I don't want to know." Marinette said.

"Speaking of our favorite celebrity, where is the man of the hour?" Aurora asked looking around the apartment.

"Oh he's still in his room getting a lecture on the finer points of Club etiquette from Nino." Alya laughed. "You should have heard him, I thought he was going to cry when I told him we were finally getting to take Adrien to a club with us. I half expected him to drop everything and run to the nearest airport."

They all laughed, and Marinette couldn't help smiling at the mental image of a distraught Nino racing through the crowded streets of New York.

"So is everyone congregating here before we head out?" Aurora ask as she picked up her overnight bag and dropped it down onto the new, and admittedly much improved, couch.

"Monique and Rochelle are meeting us here in 10, Rose, Juleka and Alix are all getting ready at the girls place and we are going to grab them on the way over in the limo."

"Nice! Looks like you managed to round up the whole gang."  
"Hey, when I plan an outing I do it in style," Alya grinned. "Speaking of style, alright Mari, let's take a look at you."

Marinette rolled her eyes and held out her arms in an exaggerated pose as her two friends circled her like eager vultures.

After all of her fretting and fussing earlier, she was quite pleased with her ensemble. Her loose boat necked top with flowing petal sleeves was stylish yet conservative from the front but with a deep scooped back that gave it a sexy flare, the bright blue color bringing out her eyes and flattering her complexion. Her high waisted charcoal grey shorts paired with six inch heels accentuated her trim figure and made her petite frame seem longer. She had piled her hair up in a strategically messy bun and accented the outfit with only minimal make up and a few choices pieces of jewelry.

It was the kind of outfit you could throw a jacket over and wear for a day mingling with high end clients before heading out for a night of fun- sexy but without trying too hard. It made her feel sophisticated, comfortable, and confidant.

Alya and Aurora, who had both opted for attractive if rather form fitting party dresses, looked at her with poorly disguised confusion, and Marinette resisted the urge to giggle at their surprise.

"Are you sure that's what you want to wear? Not that you don't look amazing it's just I would have thought given the circumstances you would want something a bit more… I donnow… alluring?"

"Flirty?" Aurora offered, as Alya struggled to express herself.

Before she could respond, the door to Adrien's room opened and the boy in question joined them.

"Sorry I took so long I didn't realize that there were so many rules to this type of…" he caught sight of Marinette and his eyes widened, "social…" his voice grew quiet and he swallowed, "gathering."

"Wow, Marinette you look amazing," Adrien stated, giving her a lingering once over.

Marinette smirked at Alya who admitted her success with a deferential nod.

One did not spend as much time obsessing over Adrien Agreste as she did without getting a pretty good sense of what his likes and dislikes were. Growing up in the fashion world he was immune to the standard tricks and trappings of clinging skirts and lowcut necklines, and with his default setting being polite and gentlemanly the more skimpy the outfit the less likely he was to acknowledge it.

Besides, as Nino would say, 'Adrien prefers the kind of girls you have to chase.'

"Thank you." She smiled coyly at him and did a slow twirl, to show off the outfit. Her confidence soared as she saw Adrien breathing heavily as he stared at her well-toned legs. Sometimes being a super hero had its perks.

"Did you make that yourself?" He asked haultingly, tearing his gaze away with a soft blush.

"Yeah. Well everything but the shoes."

His eyes immediately shot back to her strappy stilettos but this time with the critical gaze of someone who had spent more than a decade in the heart of the fashion world.

"Wait aren't those…"  
"Yeah, from the 'Gabriel' 2017 line. I made a few alterations though."

Marinette had been particularly proud of this project. The shoes themselves had of course been stunning, as was typical for anything that had Gabriel Agreste's seal of approval, but when Marinette had seen the wing accents on the jet black shoes she hadn't been able to resist adding her own flair, with an intricate combination of beading and threads.

"You made the butterflies white." Adrien breathed.

"It seemed appropriate, all things considered." She smiled back. "I hope you don't mind, I know it's your father's design but I didn't really have anything else that fits this outfit and is good for clubbing."

"I think they're perfect. Absolutely perfect." He offered his arm with a sly smile. "Ready to go take on the public?"

…

Marinette wondered if it was too late to run as their limo pulled up to the club. The entryway was bombarded with people, camera's flashing excitedly in the hopes of catching their celebrity prey.

It felt more like some extravagant red carpet affair than the standard hassle of clubbing that she was used to from similar outings with her friends.

Adrien however, was peering out the window excitedly.

"Wow it really is just like how they show it on TV."

Juleka snorted. "Only because you're here," she stated earning a light wack on the arm from her girlfriend.

"Don't make Adrien feel self-conscious! Any club that caters to celebrity clients can be like this," Rose added. "We've seen it a few times before. Remember when we spent that summer in Monaco with Ali? Some of the places we went to were far more intimidating."

Juleka nodded noncommittally still looking amusedly out at the screaming crowd surrounding the entrance.

"No way!" She chuckled. "Adrien isn't that your old bodyguard?"

All the occupants of the car crowded around the window to look where she was pointing.

Sure enough the Large, intimidating man was planted in the middle of the handful of overwhelmed bouncers.

Adrien slouched back with a scowl muttering under his breath. Marinette only caught the words father, over protective, and hypocrite but it was enough to get the general idea, and she knew better than to ask.

Instead she reached over and grabbed his hand, entwining her fingers with his and pointedly ignoring the small sighs and giggles from her friends at her actions.

"Hey," she said softly not tearing her gaze away from Adrien's face, "he can follow you around all he wants but your father has no control over you. This is just proof that he is chasing after you for a change."

Adrien's expression softened and he let out a soft chuckle. "My father does get pretty frustrated chasing me around the city." He stated with an enigmatic smile.

"We are going to have a great time tonight, I promise," Marinette said with as much fake confidence as she could muster.

"Come on Agreste," Alya grinned pushing open the door. "Time to make an entrance."

…

Marinette had never truly appreciated Adrien's modeling talent until she experienced the 20 yard walk from the Limo to the upscale bar and dance club they had decided to patronize this evening.

To say that Adrien Agreste emerging from a limo with a gaggle of attractive women caused a slight commotion was like saying that Gabriel Agreste was a mildly intimidating man.

The camera flashes were blinding and Marinette couldn't decipher a word in the sea of screams from the combination of eager reporters and drooling fans.

The Adrien that steered her through the pounding chaos was not the shy, somewhat nerdy friend who had nervously clung to her hand just moments ago.

This was the Adrien who knew how to put up a mask of perfection, the Adrien who had been in the spotlight since he was 11 years old and knew how to manipulate the crowd, and damn was he good at it.

In the scant minute that it took them to disappear into the safety of the building he effortlessly twisted and posed, pulling his new 'girlfriend' along for the ride, answering questions that Marinette couldn't even process through the noise.

She thought that she might die of mortified delight when she heard Adrien refer to her as his 'stunningly beautiful and talented girlfriend. She designed her own outfit you know.'

He also managed to name drop both Alya and Aurora before they escaped into the comparatively quiet bar.

They were quickly escorted to a relatively private alcove where a table was already set with an array of snacks and appetizers.

"I could get used to this," Aurora sighed gobbling down a cheese cube and waiving over a member of the wait staff to over a gin and tonic. "Hey Adrien, if you want to get away from Daddy you are more than welcome to join me in Orleans."

"I have obligations in Paris," he replied with a secretive grin reaching for a mini-quiche.  
"You can just bring Marinette with you." She retorted, causing Adrien to choke on his hors d'oeuvre.

"Adrien stop dying." Alya scolded whacking him on the back. "And Aurora stop trying to steal my friends. Now everyone order drinks, they have karaoke tonight and I expect everyone to participate.

A collective chorus of groans (and one cheerful 'Yay!' from Rose) echoed around the table as hands reached out for drink menus.

"So what kind of drinks is one supposed to order at a place like this?" Adrien asked, studying the drink menu with an intensity that had no place in this particular situation.

"You order whatever you want, that's sort of the point." Marinette teased.

Adrien nodded but still continued to peruse the drink menu the way one would analyze a battle plan.

Marinette barely gave the menu a glance before putting in her own order for a peach sangria.

"Oh my God." Adrien cried, tapping her shoulder and causing Marinette to jump. "Mari look at this! It's a paw-megranate paradise!"

"What?"

"Look," Adrien pointed to a drink buried at the bottom of the 'specialty cocktail list. "It's a pun cause it's pomegranate but a euro goes towards animal conservation!"

Marinette wondered for the millionth time why all the attractive men in her life seemed destined to have terrible senses of humor.

"Hey, I'll have one of these." Adrien said, holding out the menu to the waiter and pointing emphatically at his selection.

The party settled into small talk as they waited for their orders to arrive. Alya, Aurora and Rochelle arguing over what tomorrow's coverage of their 'spectacular entrance' would be like. Alix and Rose began pestering Marinette for details about her and Adrien's new relationship which she deflected as best she could with enough stuttering and blushing to make her feel like she was back in collége.

Adrien thankfully was preoccupied in a serious conversation with Juleka and Monique- a fellow fashion major- about the intricacies of proper make up application for night time photography.

Marinette watched them out of the corner of her eye and catching snippets of their conversation. She wondered if there was a tactful way for her to waive off her other friends and join in.

Adrien's in-depth analysis of the dangers of overcompensating highlighter was interrupted when a large, bubbly pink drink with an impressive fruit garnish was placed before him.

He took a tentative sip before his eyes lit up and he eagerly began downing the cocktail.

"This is incredible, seriously everyone needs to try this." Adrien waived over one of the waiters. "I am going to need like 5 more of these please."

"Of course sir, be right back."

"What are you even drinking?" Alya questioned, eyeing the bubbling pink drink with suspicion.

"It's a Paw-megranate paradise!" He replied, taking another long swig of the drink before handing it over to Alya to try. She took a sip and narrowed her eyes further.

"What is in this?"

"No idea but it kinda tastes like liquid candy!"

"Yeah that's what I'm afraid of." Alya said, rummaging around the table for a drink menu as Adrien greedily retrieved his glass and downed another third of it in one eager gulp.

"Okay, pomegranate-"

"PAW-megranate"

"Whatever. Where is this stupid thing I'm not finding it."

Marinette took pity on her friend and flipped the menu over and pointing to the section Adrien had shown her earlier.

Alya read the brief description as the waiters arrived with a tray full of the fruity drink and deposited them in front of Adrien. He chugged the remained of his original glass and happily began sipping on a second.

"Oh my," Alya said grinning at the menu, "you'd better keep an eye on him Mari, this one is dangerous! This is probably one of those drinks that some poor bartender was forced to create to get rid of whatever they are hoping to discontinue."

Adrien frowned and placed his arm possessively down on the table around his pile of drinks as if Alya was going to snatch them away and dump them down the nearest sink.

"I like it." He said defensively.

"I hope you like being drunk too because that is a distinct possibility at the rate you are going." She smirked, eyeing his cache of cocktails.

"It worked out pretty well for me last time," he said. His eyes went wide as a series of startled and amused gasps followed his statement and he flushed a deep scarlet.

Marinette had begun choking on her own drink at his words and now fought to control her blush as Alya helpfully wacked her on the back.

Adrien stared at her for a few seconds, his mouth hanging open like a fish before downing the rest of his second cocktail.

"Who wants to dance?" He said shrilly, grabbing up drink number three and hurrying around the table to loop his arms around Rose and Juleka, leading the couple out to the crowded dance floor and away from the laughing questions of their other friends.

Marinette took a final swallow of her own drink and quickly followed after them.

She would take an awkward and blushing Adrien over a gaggle of probing curious females any day.

…

"OK, it's official. Drunk Adrien is the greatest thing I have ever seen in my life." Alya beamed, her cell phone camera fixed on the small stage along the far wall.

Marinette watched in fascinated horror as Adrien, Rose and Juleka belted out an incoherent and impressively out of tune rendition of a popular pop song, complete with terribly cheesy- if surprisingly well coordinated- choreography.

They had been at the club for about three hours and Marinette had lost track of the number of Paw-megranate monstrosities Adrien had gone through. On top of his own personal drink tally, he had already bought at least one of for every member of their party- as well as more than a few for random strangers at the bar. Honestly Marinette wouldn't be surprised at this point if he just had an open tab for anyone who wanted to buy one.

All things considered though the night had been a success. Alya and Aurora had been thrilled with their entrance claiming that their activities were sure to be documented on every major gossip news site. Adrien for his part had been excited for a change to spend time reconnecting with their friends, and had even managed to fall into easy conversation with her and Alya's university friends whom he only knew in passing without back tracking into his usual reserve. Of course the fact that he was happily smashed within half an hour of their arrival probably didn't hurt his lack of shyness.

Dancing had been a fun experience. Adrien having little to no experience with normal party dancing had been charmingly awkward but eager to learn. At one point he had tried to show them all some more complex ballroom steps which had led to a lot of laughter as well as a decent sized crowd who were happy to be entertained by the novelty. Marinette was predictably his usual choice of partner/victim, although Alya and Rose also were sometimes acceptable alternatives.

By the time the karaoke was announce much of their party was at least pleasantly buzzed and had agreed to sign up. Alya thus far had been the star of the evening- belting out one of the songs from Jagged Stone's album 'Miraculous'.

Marinette was pulled out of her reverie by the sound of applause, the trio on stage having finished their catastrophe of a performance basking in the enthusiastic response to their efforts. Luckily, in this type of setting enthusiasm was often more appreciated than skill.

"So what did you guys think?" Adrien asked as he came back to join the group milling around the dance floor.

"It was certainly something." Alya said with a smile. Alix- who had been accosted by Rose and Juleka probably asking the same question- looked like she might try to flee to avoid saying anything offensive.

"What did you think Marinette?" Adrien said, giving her a knowing smirk.

"It was great!" She replied with an over large grin.

"Really?"

"Uh huh, very… um… passionate."

"No other thoughts?"

Marinette gulped as he stepped a little closer into her personal space, while Alya chortled behind her.

"No?"

"Come on Mari." He leaned forward so that their noses were almost touching.

"When you sing you sound like a strangled cat."

Adrien burst out laughing at her blurted confession. He picked her up, wrapping his arms around her upper thighs and lifting her over his head.

"You liar!" he cried with no real malice, a shit-eating grin plastered across his face. "How could you lie to my face! My poor honor has been besmirched."

Marinette squealed as Adrien began to spin them in dizzying circles as their friends laughed and cheered around them.

"I'm sorry! Put me down!"

"oh..okay…" Adrien wheezed, putting Marinette back onto the floor and swaying on his feet.

"I think I need to sit now," said, gripping onto Marinette's shoulder for support.

"Okay, back to the table with you."

Marinette waved to their friends and inclined her head towards the seating area to let them know they were taking a break and then carefully guided her unsteady companion to their chairs.

"I don't think walking has ever been this hard before." He pouted.

"I don't think you have ever been this drunk before," Marinette said, handing him a glass of water and trying not to laugh at his befuddled expression.

"It's fun though. This is fun." Adrien smiled at her. "Everyone seems so happy." He leaned towards her, resting his head lightly against her shoulder.

Marinette was sure that her heart skipped a beat as his fingers began absently tracing against the bare skin of her back.

"I'm glad you're having a good time." She said softly.

"Well it's it a lovely surprise to see you again." A new voice interrupted, and Marinette turned startled to see who had approached them.

Adrien seems just as unsure of who the smartly dressed middle aged woman might be.

"I'm sorry," Marinette said, "do we know-"

"Teresa Champlain, we met the other day."

"You!" She said recognition dawning, "you're the one who took pictures of us at the Mall." She glared at the reporter.

"Guilty as charged." Teresa replied lightly, clearly unfazed by Marinette accusing tone.

"How did you even get in here? I thought they were making a point of keeping press out of this establishment." Marinette said.

"Oh they are, I just got lucky. My husband works as a bartender here so no one thought much of it when I showed up this afternoon."

"Your husband makes the drinks?" Adrien said, perking up with a boyish smile. "They're great, you are a very lucky woman."

"I like to think so." Teresa said with a laugh. "Although speaking of lucky women, you seem to be off the market these days Mr. Agreste."

"Adrien." He corrected. "Mr. Agreste is my father, I don't want to be my father."

"Adrien then. So is it true that you are Miss Dupain-Cheng are involved."

"Involved in what?"

"With each other?"

Adrien's face furrowed in confusion for a few moments still confused by her question.

"As your girlfriend?"

He smiled broadly again. "Oh right! I have a girlfriend. I keep forgetting. Not Marinette, cause who would forget Marinette? Just that she is my girlfriend. She didn't used to be my girlfriend, but now she is because we're friends."

Marinette groaned, and fought the urge to bury her head in her hands. "Adrien, maybe we shouldn't be talking about this here… or now… or at all tonight."

"So you started as friends?" Teresa pressed on, completely ignoring Marinette's appalled protestations and focusing on her much weaker, and more accommodating, target.

"One of my first friends." Adrien grinned. "And now we live together!"

"Adrien!" Marinette shrieked.

"You two must have something really special to be living together so soon into the relationship. Unless you've actually been together this whole time?"

"Nope. Just started. My father hates it." Adrien added with a devilish smirk.

"Ok, I think that's enough of this conversation-"

"That's such a shame." Teresa said soothingly still ignoring Marinette. "After all your girlfriend seems like such a lovely young woman."

"Mari's the best." Adrien agreed, "she's fun and pretty, and always been there for me. Always."

Marinette's angry protestations died on her lips as her heart melted at the undisguised love in his voice. Now if he would just look at her as a real romantic option instead of a best friend.

"She can do so many things too," Adrien continued. "She plays games and bakes and makes clothes.

Look, look!" Adrien reached down and lifted Marinette's ankle up into the air as she let out a startled yelp and clung to her seat for balance. "This is my favorite thing! See, she altered the shoes like how Ladybug purifies the akumas." He laughed giddily and Marinette was sure that her face was seven layers red as he ran his fingers lightly up and down her calf toying with the straps of her displayed shoe.

"That is really quite stunning work." Teresa replied, stifling a laugh at Adrien's drunken antics. "Would you mind if I took a picture of it?" She asked.

"Of course!" Adrien's grin widened as he lifted her foot even higher and unthinkingly posed for the camera like this was another commercial campaign.

Marinette knew that she should probably protest, or at least grumble about how it was her shoes on display and shouldn't SHE be the one having a say in this whole picture taking thing, but he seemed so genuinely excited to show off her work she didn't have the heart to complain.

Besides the combination of natural modeling instincts plus his dizzy intoxication had turned Adrien's expression into a sultry smirk that made her want nothing more than to pounce him right here in the middle of the club.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng, is that alright with you as well?" The reported surprised her by asking.

Adrien's eyes swung to hers, the hungry, sensual gleam turning her brain to mush as she nodded dumbly no longer even conscious of what she was being asked.

Dimly she registered the soft clicking and bright flashes of a camera, but all she cared about was the feeling of Adrien's eyes locked on her own.

She licked her lips unthinkingly and he leaned in closer.

"Well that was absolutely fantastic! Thank you so much for showing me your delightful footwear."

Marinette stifled a whimper of pure sexual frustration as Adrien dropped her foot, and his smoldering demeanor, turning back to the reporter and hopping up out of his seat excitedly.

"Isn't she talented? And super nice, Marinette is the nicest," He gushed, dropping his arm around Marinette's shoulder.

He let out an excited gasp. "Mari, we should sell your shoes! I should put in an order for it at the office. I do own part of the company you know. Wouldn't that be great?" He asked turning wide eyed back to the glowing journalist.

"Sounds fantastic."

"You should write that down." He said eagerly, "We are going to start a line of WHITE Butterfly shoes, because no one wants anymore black butterflies. You tell my father that."

"Absolutely." Theresa said, continuing to watch Adrien with a smile that could rival a kid at Christmas.

"Have you had a Paw-magranete Paridise?"

"I don't believe I have had the pleasure."

"You HAVE to have one, right Mari? They are the best."

And without giving either woman a chance to protest he wrapped one arm around Marinette's waist and pulled her to her feet then shepherded them both over to the bar while launching into a glowing review on the merits of his new favorite drink.


End file.
